


The Wooing of Marcus Flint

by rubberduckz84



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 81,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubberduckz84/pseuds/rubberduckz84
Summary: Marcus Flint is a 40-something divorcee. When he goes to a house party at his old school mate's flat, he wasn't expecting for his life to change. Especially not by Adrian Pucey's half-muggle cousin who has no idea that magic exists.
Relationships: Marcus Flint/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I started this on a whim one day, thinking I'd never post it. And then I got a bit tipsy one night and thought to myself, "Hey, this is a decent story. I like reading it. Maybe other folks would too! Let's post!" I don't know why I do these things... But yea, it's just pure and complete fluff. But there are some cameos from everyone's faves. It's kind of like, if there was a Harry Potter rom-com for adults...

Marcus stepped into the apartment, slightly uncomfortable with being in the muggle world. To be honest, since the divorce, he was uncomfortable being out in public anywhere, even though it had been a year ago. Why Pucey insisted on having an apartment here when there were perfectly good flats near Diagon Alley, he would never understand.

“Folks out here are more accepting of a 40-something bachelor than our world,” he had said once over a few beers. If it was true, maybe Marcus should consider moving. Merlin knew he was tired of the looks of pity or disapproval he got for being divorced - something nearly unheard of in the wizarding world, let alone among pureblood families. Pucey was lucky in that he had been disowned from his parents back in Hogwarts. Flint had received more than a few angry owls from his mother and his father still hadn’t quite spoken to him since he broke the news. Even though it only came about because Flint had caught his wife cheating on him for the fifth time.

But despite his discomfort, here he was, walking into Pucey’s flat for a house party in honor of his cousin, who was visiting from America. Various memories of Pucey talking about her flinted through his mind. The most intriguing being that she didn’t know about magic. He had thought Pucey’s family was pureblood but apparently he had an uncle who had left the fold and married a muggle woman in the U.S., completely leaving the wizarding world behind. None of their children had shown any magical proclivities and they had decided never to tell them, hoping to protect them from the various uprisings of Lord Voldemort.

Even though the wizarding world was once again safe for muggles and muggleborn, so long had passed that they thought it best not to tell them.

“You made it!” Adrian shouted as he patted Marcus on the back, leaning in close. “She’s in the other room, but remember… no magical stuff.” Marcus nodded wordlessly as Adrian placed a glass of whisky in his hand. He looked around the living room of the large flat. Pucey had done well for himself as a quidditch player. Now retired a few years, he had taken on a lucrative position as chaser coach for Puddlemere United alongside Marcus’ old school nemesis - head coach Oliver Wood. He frowned, thinking of the Scottish bloke. He supposed at some point they should let bygones be bygones and would probably get on. Wood had been twice divorced now, though he had a daughter from the first marriage who was in her sixth year at Hogwarts and showing promise as a keeper on the Gryffindor team.

Marcus took a long sip of his whisky as Terrence Higgs walked up to him.

“Good to see you out, Flint. Rejoining the world, are you?” he asked, grinning.

“Pucey didn’t give me much choice,” he replied with a shrug. “Bad enough he’s been going on about his favorite cousin for years. He’d of dragged me out of my flat if I didn’t show up to finally meet the bird.”

“He’s not trying to set you up, is he?” Higgs mused. Marcus nearly choked on his whisky. While he was still fit and looked younger than his 43 years, it was preposterous to think his old schoolmate would be setting him up with his much younger - not to mention favorite and muggle - cousin. Higgs laughed boisterously.

“It’s about time you thought about dating again. It’s been a year, mate. Time to move on from Pansy,” he said. “She was a flighty bitch. And you’re easy on the eyes. Who’s to say she wouldn’t be interested?”

“She’s… she’s young. And muggle,” Marcus whispered furiously, looking towards a hallway that led off to the bathroom and various other rooms in the flat. “I’m sure she wouldn’t be interested in an aging lawyer who’s divorced.”

“You never know, mate. From the way Pucey’s always described her, she’s nothing if not surprising,” he said with a wink before wandering off to their various other schoolmates. Part of the old Slytherin team was there - Higgs and Bletchley. Plus Cassius Warrington and Blaise Zabini. Even though Blaise was a few years behind them, once they had all graduated, he had been incorporated into the group. Bletchley, Higgs and Warrington were happily married for several years. Kids included. Marcus took another large gulp of his whisky, silently thanking Merlin that he and Pansy had never had children. The custody battle alone would have been a nightmare.

Marcus finished his whisky and walked over to a table next to a TV that had been set up as a sort of bar. He almost fixed himself another, but then set the glass down, feeling the need to use the loo. He wandered down the hallway and stepped into the guest bathroom. Staring at himself in the mirror after washing his hands he took a deep breath. He could hear Pucey in his mind.

“You’re still young, for Merlin’s sake, Flint! We’re wizards! We live until well into our 100s! You should get out there more,” he had said once. Marcus chuckled ruefully as he turned and opened the door, stepping out.

“For fuck’s sake, Mark. I told you I’m on vacation. I turned in all my pieces due for the next month and I’m not fucking meeting any bands. I don’t care if you’ve already set it up,” a woman’s voice shouted from the open doorway across from the bathroom. Marcus froze. He looked down the hallway to the living room where music could be heard playing over conversations. He cautiously stepped to the doorway, curious about this cousin.

Peeking in, he saw a short woman from behind. She had wavy, shoulder-length hair that was light brown - almost blonde - at the roots and a light shade of pink at the bottom. She was in black skinny jeans and a long, fitted gray racerback tank top.

She leaned her head back in exasperation, her right hand holding something to her ear. It appeared to be a muggle mobile. Adrian had shown Marcus his before. Odd contraptions.

“NO!” she shouted, causing Marcus to jump slightly. Her left arm, which had been wrapped in front of her came up as she ran her fingers through her hair. “You shit-eating asshole! This has nothing to do with that and everything to do with the fact that I. Need. A. Vacation. How many festivals did I cover this year? And don’t you for damn sure forget who got you the interview with the Rolling Stones you’ve been pining for.”

She turned slightly, standing in profile as she placed her left hand on her hip. Her face was more visible and Marcus was shocked. He knew she was in her early 30s, but at his first guess, he would have thought more along the lines of 25. Barely visible on the inside of her right arm were some sort of odd markings that confused Marcus. They must be tattoos. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, closing her eyes.

“I’m not doing it Mark. And from this point on, I’m not taking your calls. I’m on vacation. Get someone else to do your work for you,” she said calmly. Whoever this Mark was, whatever he said next must have enraged her because her eyes flew open.

“Get this right, asshole, I made me. Not you. Not anyone else. I got my own interviews and I worked my way to the top. Don’t you have some secretary to fuck because I’m done with this conversation,” she yelled. She moved the phone from her ear and angrily pressed something on it, then tossed it on the bed, letting out a shout of frustration. She started pacing, which Marcus took as his cue to make his way back to the living room.

The odd exchange wouldn’t leave Marcus’ head as he made himself another drink and turned to the small circle of friends gathered in the large living room.

It seemed not two minutes later, they were interrupted by a loud presence entering the room. Marcus turned with the others to see the cousin sauntering in the room. Finally getting a full look at her, Marcus knew he was right in his assessment that she looked way too young to be 32. A large grin was plastered on her face as she walked up to Adrian, making it difficult to make out her eye color. She had pale skin and tattoos on the insides of both arms that swung lazily at her sides. Some image was on her tank top and Marcus surmised it must be some band. He remembered Adrian telling him she was a music reporter.

“This is mine, I take it?” she said brightly as she took Pucey’s glass from his hand and emptied half of it in one gulp.

“Everyone, my cousin from the States - Nora,” he said with a grin. Nora smiled at everyone, waving with her left hand. There was a collective gasp among the men as they saw the tattoo on the inside of her left arm, images of the dark mark dancing through their minds.

“Adey here has told me so much about you all. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face,” she said, grinning still.

“Adey?” Higgs stuttered, a smile breaking out. Soon they were all laughing at Pucey’s nickname. Adrian rolled his eyes.

“Look… she couldn’t say my name when she was younger, so she called me Adey,” he explained.

“And never stopped,” Nora said, winking at her older cousin. Adrian scowled down at the younger woman. The look of slight terror at her tattoos didn’t go unseen by him, though thankfully she hadn’t noticed. Marcus wondered how he was going to explain something obviously muggle without giving up anything about magic.

“As I’ve mentioned, she’s a music writer,” Adrian continued. “Been traveling around the world chasing bands and musicians for the better part of 10 years.” Nora hopped slightly, as though she just remembered something.

“Ah! Yes! I have an announcement,” she said, turning to look at the bar. She ran over and grab a load of shot glasses, pouring tequila in them.

“A bit early for that, yea Nor?” Adrian said, walking over. Nora looked over her shoulder at him.

“Not for a celebration,” she said with a cheeky grin. “Help me pass these around.” After the two had made sure everyone had a shot glass in hand, Nora started grinning. “I know I just met you all, but I need to celebrate.” Adrian looked down at her slightly impatiently.

“You’re looking at the new senior features writer at the biggest music magazine in Britain!” she shouted, lifting her glass up. Adrian gasped and picked up the small woman, swinging her around, miraculously not spilling their shots.

“Serious? That’s amazing!” he shouted. The rest of the guys managed to fake passable attempts of being impressed, even though none of them had the slightest clue what she was talking about. “Is that why you’re here? What about Billboard?”

“Done with that shitshow. Mark was becoming impossible. I did the interview a few weeks ago and they offered me the job last week. I signed the contract this morning,” she said, grinning and obviously proud of herself. Adrian turned to the group, lifting his glass up.

“To my cousin, the next hotshot in music journalism,” he said, grinning as Nora rolled her eyes. Everyone cheered and took their shots. Marcus watched the woman out of the corner of his eye, noting how she relished the taste going down. He wasn’t fond of tequila, but whatever this was, it wasn’t bad.

“Oh god, Adrian, I just made all your friends do shots without proper introductions,” she said suddenly. “Sorry… I get excited sometimes and I have a one-track mind.”

“Especially when tequila is involved,” Adrian muttered. Nora scowled at him playfully and punched him in the arm.

“Okay, let me see if I can guess this right - I’ve heard so much about you all over the years,” she said, looking around the room. “Terrence Higgs… and then you must be Warrington - Cassius, is it?”

“Never understood why my mum gave me that name,” Warrington said, rolling his eyes. Nora grinned.

“It’s unique,” she said. She then turned, looking at Zabini, who was standing next to him. “Blaise, right?” He nodded. “Miles Bletchley. How’s little Annie doing?” Bletchley looked shocked that she knew his daughter’s name.

“Good, though she’s nearly 14 now. Not so little anymore,” he replied. Nora nodded.

“Adey said she’s got a penchant for writing,” she said, smiling.

“Started a newspaper for her school house,” he said proudly.

“Sounds like she’s on the right path,” Nora said, impressed. She then settled her eyes on Marcus. He noticed for the first time that she had dark blue eyes that reminded him of the calm sea both in color and depth. He shifted slightly, feeling as though she was staring into his soul.

“And you must be Marcus Flint,” she said, walking up to him with her hand out and a grin. He took her hand, going slightly mute. Her hand was positively tiny in his and he felt a shiver run up his spine.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, sputtering slightly. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the woman had him transfixed. He had never met anyone like her before. In a split second, images of the two of them in a passionate embrace, tongues fighting for control, ran through his head. He quickly shook it, banishing the thoughts and hoped he had a warm smile rather than a grimace on his face. He heard Adrian chuckling behind Nora. She let go and turned back to her cousin.

“Well… pre-drinks are out of the way. Are we ready?” she asked. Marcus looked at Pucey in confusion, along with the rest of the group. He grinned wickedly.

“Right, I guess I forgot to tell you. Nora has a table booked at one of the hottest clubs in London. We’re meeting some of her friends there,” he said casually. Flint’s eyes widened. He thought he was coming here for a quiet night of drinks. Apparently everyone else as well, though Zabini looked excited. Higgs and Warrington each shared a pleased look, while Bletchley seemed to be quickly coming around to the idea.

“I dunno… I haven’t been to a club before,” Marcus found himself saying. Nora turned to look at him, eyes wide with amusement.

“Well, then it’s settled, Mr. Flint, you have to go,” she said, her voice full of mirth.

~~~~

Marcus was mentally berating himself for allowing himself to be dragged out to the muggle club. This had bad idea written all over it. He slipped his hand into his leather jacket, feeling the warm familiarity of his wand. But he knew he couldn’t use it. He was completely helpless and currently being led by sprite of a muggle toward the entrance of a large brick building.

“Relax. Have fun, Flint,” Adrian said to him, grinning.

“Not really my scene, Pucey,” he replied.

“Not really any of our scenes, but you don’t see us complaining,” Zambini said, grinning as he checked out the many beautiful women standing in line. Nora was now hugging two women who looked about the same age as her. She turned to the group of men following her. The women raised their eyebrows and glanced at each other, obviously happy with the situation.

“Guys, these are my friends - Moira Hamish and Belle Kane. They both work at the magazine and I’ve known them for years,” she said brightly. “This is my cousin, Adrian Pucey - single, and his friends, Miles Bletchley, Cassius Warrington and Terrence Higgs - married.” She paused to give the two women looks of warning. They laughed.

“Please, not us you have to worry about,” Moira said, tossing her dark, curly hair over her shoulder.

“And then, Blaise Zabini and Marcus Flint - single,” Nora finished. Marcus felt his cheeks heating up at her introduction. Adrian was busy kissing both women’s hands. He always was the biggest flirt of their friends. Marcus nodded uncomfortably.

“Nora! There you are, you minx!” a male voice shouted. They turned to look as a tall, devilishly handsome man walked out, a grin on his face. He walked over and hugged her, kissing her on the cheek.

“Tom! How is the love of my life?” she replied coyly.

“Better now that you’re here, my dear,” he said, winking at her.

“Beginning to see how she gets so many interviews,” Higgs said with a grin. “She’s a bigger flirt than Pucey.

“Your table is ready. Follow me,” he said, leading them back into the club. They all paused momentarily to receive wristbands. Marcus glanced at his curiously as they wove through crowds of people. The music was so loud he could barely hear himself think. They walked up to a raised section guarded by a rope and big burly man. Once they were all in, they came to a large table sat back into an alcove. It was still loud, but at least it was slightly easier to hear. The table had large tin buckets of ice with several bottles of various liquors in them. Glasses were arranged in the center along with a few bottles full of other liquids.

Tom motioned to the table with a flourish.

“Only the best for my favorite music writer,” he said, winking at Nora. She laughed and swatted at him. All the men’s eyes bulged slightly as they took in the setup.

“Looks expensive,” Warrington murmured.

“Don’t worry, Nor and I have it covered. She gets massive discounts,” Pucey said so only they heard. The nervous ones smiled, reassured.

“Always appreciated,” Nora said, kissing Tom again.

“Hey, you said it was a celebration and I came through. Have fun,” he said before walking off. The group slid into the round table, which gave them a good view of the dance floor.

“Who’s ready for shots?” Nora shouted with a grin. Marcus sighed. This was going to be a long, crazy night.

~~~~

Marcus wasn’t sure how many shots he had had or what they even were, but after about an hour, he was finally starting to relax. He was content to watch the various conversations going on around him. Even laughing as Moira and Belle dragged Zabini and Pucey off to the dance floor. Nora, it seemed, was content to stay at the table, chatting with the remaining men. She laughed over something with Bletchley, probably something about his daughter. She seemed to have this ability to set everyone at ease around her. There was something about the way she laughed, that made one want to laugh too, even if you had no clue what it was she was laughing about. It wasn’t just a simple thing - she laughed with her whole body, tossing her head back, her shoulder shaking.

She had long lost the jacket she had tossed on before they left, her tattoos now on full display. Marcus was curious as to what they were. She then patted Bletchley on the arm and stood, walking over to the railing that separated their section from the rest of the club. Leaning up against it, she tilted her head to the side, watching the dance floor. Something compelled Marcus to follow her. It wasn’t until someone walked up to her that he even noticed he had been starting to stand.

“Looks like Flint’s got it bad,” Higgs yelled. Marcus tore his eyes away from her and looked at his three remaining friends who were in a fit of laughter.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, mate,” he said gruffly as he grabbed his glass of whisky and downed half of it.

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her all night. Though I don’t blame you. If I were single, I’d be all over her,” Warrington added. Marcus scowled at them and turned his attention back to Nora. She had turned to face this new person, her arms crossed in front of her as her head was tilted to the right. She was leaning closer, as though trying to hear the tall man. She laughed slightly at something, looking up at him. Flint moved his eyes from her to the man, who looked familiar. His eyes widened as he recognized him. Immediately a sneer fell across his face. Oliver Fucking Wood.

This time he did stand and walk towards the two. Oliver was handing something to her, which she accepted with an amused look. He then smiled and turned and walked away before Marcus reached them. He stopped suddenly, as Nora glanced down at the card and then slid it into her back pocket. She turned and noticed Marcus, a grin breaking out.

“Marcus!” she shouted, walking towards him. “C’mon, let’s do a shot!” Marcus wordlessly followed her back to the table, sitting as she deftly grabbed two shot glasses and poured something from a stout bottle with a green label. She plopped down next to him, her thigh rubbing up against his. His breath hitched slightly as she handed the small glass to him.

“This is my favorite!” she shouted. Marcus looked at it and then back at her, watching as she licked her hand - causing him to gulp - then sprinkled something on it from a plate on the table. She glanced at him, an eyebrow raised. “You ever done Patron before?” He shook his head no.

“I haven’t,” he said, finally finding his voice. She smiled and nodded.

“Lick your hand and sprinkle some salt,” she said, leaning close so he could hear her. He quickly followed her instructions. She then handed him a lime slice, before picking up one herself.

“Now, you need to lick, drink, suck,” she shouted. “Got it?” Marcus nodded, thinking muggle drinking traditions were odd. “Alright, cheers!” She held her glass out to him. He clinked his against hers then did as instructed. He changed his mind. They weren’t odd. They were fantastic.

Nora laughed and leaned back in her chair, looking out to the dance floor, bobbing her head with the music. Her hands were on the table, allowing Marcus to get a closer look at the tattoos. It was like nothing he had ever seen. They were intricate and delicate. The two larger ones - one on each arm - were some sort of design with lines, arrows and circles, with one large, main image in the middle. On her right arm was the scene of an old plane flying over mountains and pine trees. Above it was a small delicate quill. He couldn’t really make out the one on her left arm.

She looked back at him, catching him studying her arms and laughed, getting his attention.

“Sorry… I just haven’t seen anything like that before,” he said, sitting up. She turned her arms up, allowing him a full view of them.

“My tattoos? It’s no problem. A lot of people ask about them,” she said. She pointed to the two on her left arm. “This is my mother’s initials. And this one is for my little brother.” It was a large image that was half some sort of insignia and the other half a jagged, crystallized looking stag head. “He wanted to be a pilot and loved hunting. This one,” she pointed at the large one on the other arm, “Is for my grandparents. That’s my grandfather’s plane and they grew up in the mountains.”

“What’s this one for?” Flint asked, pointing at the quill, genuinely interested in why someone would paint images on themselves.

“Ah, that’s for me. To remind me on hard days that I’m born to write,” she said with a fond smile. Marcus found himself reaching out and gently rubbing the quill with his thumb, surprised to see it didn’t smear or budge. Her skin was soft. Nora chuckled, covering the shiver that ran through her skin.

“Yea, they’re permanent tattoos,” she said. Marcus looked up at her, expecting to find her mocking him. But it wasn’t there. Just a warmth. “When I lived in Korea, a lot of people thought they were temporary. Got a lot of shocked looks.”

“You lived in Korea?” he asked, intrigued. He had never traveled to Asia. Nora nodded.

“Amazing indie music scene. I was there for a few years before I went back to the States to work at Billboard about four years ago,” she said. Suddenly, Nora sat up and turned to him. “Come on… we’re dancing.” She grabbed his arm and started pulling him. Marcus’ eyes went wide.

“But… I don’t dance…,” he stuttered. Nora laughed, successfully getting him out of his chair.

“You do tonight,” she said. Before he could protest again, she had dragged him out of the VIP section and onto the dance floor. Something with a Latin beat started playing and she turned to face him, moving her hips from side to side in time with the music. Marcus was frozen, unsure of what to do. Nora looked up at him and laughed. She stepped up close to him, grabbed his hands and pulled them around her waist. She gently urged him to follow her movement and he was surprised to find himself matching the beat.

“See, you do dance,” she shouted at him. Marcus grinned as he relaxed, letting himself move with her. Nora then pulled back, still holding his hands. He was thankful for those dance lessons he had to do at Hogwarts. He expertly spun her, swinging her behind him and then spinning her back around to his front, pulling her in close. Nora grinned.

“Holding out on me, are you?” she shouted.

“Can’t very well put all my cards out on the table at first, can I?” he replied, surprising himself as well as Nora. She grinned, happy to see the change. They danced for a few more songs, before Nora motioned she wanted to get another drink. When they reached the table, everyone was back, laughing and drinking.

“Where’ve you been?” Pucey asked when Marcus sat next to him.

“Dancing,” he replied, taking the shot glass from him. Pucey’s eyebrows shot up.

“So the great Marcus Flint dances?”


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Marcus was up standing on his balcony, sipping his tea and staring at the business card in his hand with Nora’s name and phone number on it.

_“Let’s hang out again before I leave,”_ she said, with that infectious grin of hers.

After witnessing the exchange which left Marcus sputtering slightly, Adrian had promised he’d take him out the next day to purchase a muggle mobile phone and teach him to use it. Marcus found himself smiling as he remembered the night. He had fun. A lot of fun. Most of it due to Nora.

There was something about her that drew him in. He knew that she would ultimately only be gone for a few weeks when she left. And that she would be here for a mostly permanent basis - thanks to her parents she had something called dual citizenship allowing her to live and work in London - but he still didn’t want her to go.

As much as it excited him, it also scared him. He remembered how excited Pansy had made him in the beginning before she had stomped all over his heart and tossed it out. But the rational side of his brain reminded him that Nora was nothing like Pansy. The other side of him agreed, showing him all the ways it could go wrong.

She was muggle. She was 11 years younger than him. She was wild. She had tattoos. She held her own and didn’t let anyone tell her what to do. She was loud and cursed like a sailor. She had traveled the world.

He was a pureblood wizard, expected to be with only women from a dwindling pool. He was a respectable wizarding lawyer. He was a Slytherin, still slightly despised by the wizarding world even though he and his family had ultimately chose to side with the right side this time. His father was a reformed Death Eater. He was expected to live life by a set of rules that Nora undoubtedly didn’t fit into. Especially if he wanted to inherit his family’s lands and titles.

And he couldn’t tell Nora any of this. He couldn’t take her to his home or office. He couldn’t introduce her to his family.

He had voiced all of this the night before after Pucey had talked him into a nightcap after the club. The women had gone to Nora’s hotel suite for a few more drinks and happily waved the men off.

_“Maybe she’s exactly what you need right now. Stop sabotaging yourself and just… see where it goes,”_ Adrian had said.

_“But if this goes too far… How do I explain everything? Merlin, I can’t even invite her to my flat. It’s in the middle of Diagon Alley,”_ he replied.

_“Marcus, you are one of my best and closest friends. Stop over-analyzing and just… go with it for once,”_ Adrian countered. _“Nor is a big girl. She can handle whatever happens.”_

That was what Marcus was worried about. He had next to zero knowledge of the muggle world and had no clue how to explain everything to her. Not to mention, she was obviously smart and observant. She would see right through whatever lies he may spin to explain away eccentricities. He had also raised this with Adrian.

_“She gets so caught up in her work, she’ll miss most of it. She hasn’t noticed that I’m not muggle in all the years we’ve known each other. And I’ll teach you,”_ Adrian had countered. Marcus sighed and shook his head.

This had disaster written all over it, and yet, he found himself wanting to at least try.

~~~~

“So, this is the latest model?” Adrian asked the salesperson at the shop.

“Yes, it comes in four different colors and three different sizes in terms of storage,” the young woman responded. Marcus felt as though he was back in Hogwarts, struggling to understand all the information coming into him. He had always thought he was stupid. Turned out he just hadn’t found something he loved enough to enjoy studying. After he graduated, his father had taken him on as an apprentice in his law firm and once Marcus opened his first law book, he didn’t stop until he had learned everything there was to know about wizarding law. He had wanted to work with the Wizengamot and represent defendants - who still often didn’t get proper representation unless they were important or rich - but his father and Pansy had insisted that he stay with the firm, drafting deeds and other official documents. Against Pansy’s wishes, he had left his father’s firm to start his own smaller one. While he didn’t bring in as much as before, he still made more than the average wizard. Granted it was worth it to gain the freedom of not having his father breathing down his neck.

“Which do you think?” Adrian asked, grabbing Marcus’ attention. He looked over the two phones he was holding.

“Honestly, they both look the same,” he said offhandedly.

“Could you excuse us a moment,” Adrian asked the salesperson. She smiled, nodded and stepped away.

“Did you listen to anything?” Adrian asked.

“Not really. They look overly complicated,” Marcus said, taking one and swiping his finger across it a bit unsuredly. He had seen Adrian and the salesperson do so. He found that rows of small icons breeze away as others appeared.

“If you want to keep in touch with Nora, you’ve got to get one,” Adrian said softly. Marcus sighed.

“Alright explain the differences to me again,” Marcus said.

About 20 minutes later, the two walked out, with a bag. Pucey had a huge grin on his face, satisfied with Marcus’ purchase and led the way down the street to a cafe. After sitting and ordering tea and sandwiches, he pulled out the phone and took it from its box.

“Alright then, this button is the power button,” he said. Marcus leaned forward and watched as Adrian fired up the contraption and handed it over to him. While he had been mostly disinterested in the shop, now that he had it in his hand, he started to get a bit excited.

He had a way to contact Nora.

Adrian quietly and efficiently explained the basic functions he would need to know. How to make a call, send a text message and such. He even downloaded something call a messaging app, saying it was Nora’s favorite one to use.

“And here… you can take photos,” he said. He grabbed the phone and held it up. Marcus frowned slightly as he pressed something and then put the phone back down. “Not your best, but here you are.” He handed it back and Marcus looked down at the photo of him.

“It doesn’t move,” he stated. Pucey laughed.

“Of course not. Muggle photos don’t,” he said. “But… you can swipe like this and there… video mode. Let’s you take video. Those move. Just be careful and don’t forget to turn it off, otherwise it’ll use up all the battery.”

After lunch, Adrian had sent him on his way, saying he had to meet up with Wood to go over plays before the next practice on Monday. Flint made his way home. Once he had arrived, he made a cup of tea and then settled on the balcony, pulling the phone and all its various accessories out, placing them on the table.

It came with a booklet explaining the various functions and how to use it. Adrian had set him up an account to download apps. Reading the booklet, he learned that he could also download music for a fee. He made a mental note to remember that in case he needed it.

Once he felt confident enough, he pulled out Nora’s card and carefully typed in her number, saving it in the phone. He now had two numbers - Nora and Adrian. He then stared at it, contemplating what to do. Should he call? Or text? He didn’t know what the custom was for muggles and forgot to ask Adrian before he had left. Would she be offended if he chose one mode of contact over another?

“Get a grip, Marcus,” he said softly. This wasn’t Hogwarts. He was a grown man wanting to contact a grown woman. He then picked up the phone and pressed the icon for a text message. Typing Nora’s name it, he then started to type in the message, fumbling a bit with the tiny keys.

After about five minutes, he had a message he was satisfied with and pressed send.

**Hello Nora. It’s Marcus. Just wanted you to have my number.**

He placed the phone back down on the table and started to enjoy his tea. He probably should have gone into the office to work on some briefs, but figured they could wait until tomorrow. There wasn’t a lot, but he wanted to get ahead in his work since next week was slated to be busy.

Suddenly the phone chimed, startling Marcus. He looked down, noticing he had a message. Nora had replied. Adrian was right. Muggle phones were a lot faster and more convenient than owl. He should have gotten one years ago. He picked up the phone and opened the messenger.

**Hey! Thanks for letting me know! Hope you aren’t too hungover from last night. I’m in agony… Damn tequila...**

Marcus chuckled to himself. He pitied muggles for not having hangover tonics like the wizarding world. One sip and all signs of his hangover were gone.

**Had a bit of a headache this morning, but good now. The tequila was nice.**

Marcus pressed send and waited, hoping she’d respond quickly. He had managed to type the second message a bit easier than the first. The phone chimed.

**It was, wasn’t it… My kryptonite. I love it, yet it hates me. Tho it doesn’t beat a good whisky…**

Marcus’ eyebrows raised slightly. So, she liked a good whisky, did she?

**Nothing beats a good whisky. Especially one that’s been aged at least 12 years. But prefer 20 year.**

He sat back and waited. Her reply came almost instantly.

**Marry me now, Marcus Flint.**

He choked on his tea before realizing she was joking. He picked up the phone and contemplated a response before typing.

**That all depends on your taste in whisky. And couldn’t possibly marry a bird I’ve only met once. Need at least 2 dates first. Make sure you’re not crazy.**

After he had sent it, he reread it, now thinking it was actually quite stupid. It had been a long time since he attempted flirting. And he had no idea how to flirt with a muggle. He certainly couldn’t match Nora’s wit. He wished he could take it back.

**Haha! I’m the good kind of crazy. What are you doing tomorrow? ; )**

Marcus smiled though he was surprised his attempt at a joke had actually worked. And what’s more, she wanted to see him again too. The next few messages went back and forth rapidly.

**Need to do some work at the office in the morning, but I’m free all afternoon and evening. What did you have in mind?**

**Work on a Sunday? Boo! If you’re down for some cheering up, was thinking lunch at my favorite brunch place.**

**Ok. What time?**

**12:30 OK?**

Marcus thought a bit before responding. He only had about two hours or so of work to do. He could definitely meet her at 12:30 pm.

**I can do that. Where should I meet you?**

**Moorgate Station at 12:15 pm. Just made a reservation for 12:30.**

What was this place she was taking him to? He started to wonder what to wear. Nora didn’t seem like the type for a fancy brunch.

**Ok. What is the name of the place, by the way?**

There. If he got the name he could ask Adrian about it. He had a computer and internet and could search it for him.

**It’s a surprise. But super laidback & casual. Brunch should be fun - not stuffy.**

Looked as though he wouldn’t need to contact Adrian after all. He found himself grinning madly. He was going to see Nora tomorrow.

_“But it’s a bad idea getting involved with a muggle,”_ a small voice in the back of his mind said. It sounded an awful lot like his father. His smile faded slightly as he looked down at the phone.

_“Stop being a git and go have a good time with her. You could use something new in your bloody life,”_ another voice, sounding oddly like Pucey, said. Marcus sighed and replied, hitting send.

**Great! Though I assume any brunch with you as company would be fun.**

Her response came immediately.

**You sure marriage is off the table until later? I can get the ring today. ; )**

He chuckled, shaking his head. She certainly was going to be a handful.


	3. Chapter 3

Marcus looked around at the people streaming out of the underground exit. He had checked and double-checked the location and then apparated to a small alley a couple blocks down. He arrived there about 10 minutes early, not wanting to be late since they had a reservation.

It was nearly 12:20 by the time Nora rushed out of the station, smiling as soon as she saw Marcus. She was dressed comfortably in roomy jeans that hung low on her hips with a light gray t-shirt covered by a large, navy cardigan. A large purse was slung over her shoulder. She pulled the strap up higher as she rushed over to him.

He felt like blushing slightly as he caught her appraising him and seeming happy with the result. He had opted for dark gray trousers and a black pullover. It was comfortable, but secretly he liked the way it showed off his still toned body. With everything else he had lost in the past few years, he had to hold on to something. Might as well be his physique from his quidditch days. Shortly after the divorce he also started wearing his dark hair longer, discovering that he had a bit of natural curl to it.

“I know, I’m late. So sorry!” Nora shouted as she reached him. She surprised him by giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. She stepped back and looped her arm through his, pulling him down a street. “If we walk fast, we’ll still get there on time.”

Marcus smiled as he let her lead him forward.

“So, what is this place?” Marcus asked, gazing down at the woman. She looked up at him, a cheeky grin firmly planted on her face.

“What good is a surprise if I tell you before we get there?” she asked. Marcus chuckled.

“Very well then. I’ll be patient,” he said. “How was the rest of yesterday? Did you spend the whole afternoon rolling around in agony?” Nora laughed loudly.

“Nah. I manage to drag myself out of bed for the sole purpose of food and a hot bath,” she said.

“Sounds relaxing,” he commented.

“It was. Felt much better afterwards,” Nora replied. “Then Adrian met me at my hotel for dinner and drinks. They have this really great jazz lounge there. The food was amazing and the music… uh… so good.” Marcus looked down, barely registering where they were going as he was too focused on watching Nora. Her entire face lit up as she talked. “We went through, like, three bottles of wine. Everything was that good.”

“Sounds like it was... unforgettable,” Marcus said, unsure of the right word to use. Nora looked up at him and giggled.

“Good one,” she said. Marcus looked away, confused. He hadn’t made a joke. He then shook it off.

“Maybe I could come check it out sometime,” he ventured.

“You should! They do shows every Friday and Saturday. We should go once before I leave,” Nora replied. “Aha, here we are.” They stopped as Marcus noticed a diner with a large neon sign that read Bad Egg. “This is the best brunch in the city,” Nora said, leading him in.

“Reservations for Nora Pucey,” she told the hostess. The woman smiled.

“Follow me,” she said.

Once they were settled in the booth, Marcus perused the menu. There weren’t a huge amount of options, but he was a bit unfamiliar with a lot of the entres. Though he did at least understand the drinks menu. He glanced over at Nora, whose nose was scrunched in concentration.

“So… as the brunch expert, what do you suggest?” Marcus asked, smiling slightly. Nora looked up at him and then back down at the menu.

“Depends… do you want more breakfast or more lunch?” she asked, looking up at him. “Or… we could get both and share?”

“I like that idea,” he said. Nora smiled and looked back down.

“Hmm, okay, definitely have to get the fries. And then… let’s do pancakes with bacon and maple syrup… and… ooo! The chilaquiles are really good. Let’s get those too. And, for the last one, is there anything that looks good to you?” she looked up at him expectantly.

“The pulled pork looks good,” he said, glancing up at her.

“Excellent choice, Mr. Flint,” Nora said, smiling. The waitress walked over and Nora deftly gave her their order.

“And what would you like to drink?” she asked.

“Bloody Mary,” Nora responded.

“Same,” Marcus said. They handed over their menus and sat back to wait for their drinks to arrive.

It was an odd feeling for Marcus, not being the one in charge. In the wizarding world, he was expected to take the lead - especially on dates. Pansy had always opted to let him order for her. And when they went out, she had always gone along with wherever he had decided to take her. However, she had control in other ways. She could always persuade him to do things her way, things like his career. Or who to be friends with. Or which high publicity wizarding events they should go to. She was every bit the pureblood socialite and made sure everyone was looking at her as much as possible by wearing the best and most famous designer robes. Another reason Marcus wanted the divorce was because he was afraid she’d bankrupt them by buying dresses alone.

But this was different. He was out of his element in the muggle world and had no clue what to do half the time or how to explain his lack of knowledge without saying who he really was. But he didn’t feel as scared as he thought he would. That was in large part to the guide sitting across from him. Nora didn’t push or manipulate him, rather gave him the option of taking the lead. And if he didn’t, she was happy to step in. But he sensed if he had more knowledge in a certain area, she would happily defer to him.

She had power in a different way than Pansy. Hers sprung from taking care of herself for so many years and a desire to look out for others, whereas Pansy only wanted to control for the sake of control. Marcus still couldn’t believe that he could find a woman like Nora even though he had only known her two days. He was interested to see what would happen if the two women went head to head.

“Earth to Marcus,” Nora said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly as their Bloody Marys were delivered. Marcus took a sip of his as Nora spoke.

“So, Adrian says you’re a lawyer,” she started. Marcus nodded.

“Mostly I just do generic stuff. Contracts, deeds, prenups and the like. It’s not that exciting, but I enjoy it,” he said. “I started my own practice five years ago and it’s doing well.” Nora nodded.

“I don’t think I could be a lawyer. I’m shit at arguing. I get too emotional,” she stated. Marcus laughed.

“Honestly, I barely argue. I hardly ever have to go into court,” he said. “Most things can be settled in my office.”

“Well that’s convenient,” Nora said.

“What are your plans while in London?” Marcus asked. Nora shrugged.

“Bug my cousin as much as possible. Fit in a bunch of concerts and gigs. Start preparing for the move,” she said.

“When are you planning to move?”

“Hoping to be back here permanently a few weeks or so after I get back to the U.S. My sister is moving into my place, so thankfully I won’t have to ship much outside of my personal stuff. ‘Course that means I’ll have a shit ton of stuff to buy when I get here. But suppose it depends on how quickly I can find a place. I mailed my letter of resignation right before I left, so I suspect my boss should get it by Monday, meaning I’ll just need to go in and clean out my desk when I get back,” she said. Marcus was surprised.

“You can do that in the U.S.?” he asked.

“I don’t think it’s particularly kosher, but seeing as I hate my boss with an undying fiery passion that rivals Hades, I don’t really give a shit,” she said with a shrug as the first half of their food arrived. Marcus chuckled. Perhaps she would have been a Slytherin.

As their food arrive and they started eating - the food was insanely good, Marcus planned to let Nora choose all his meals from here out - they settled into a casual conversation.

“So, do you have Facebook?” Nora asked.

“Face-what?” Marcus asked, confused. Nora laughed, though it didn’t seem mocking.

“Facebook. Social media. It’s another way to stay connected with people. It’s a bit easier to use when you’re in different countries. International calls are pricey,” she said.

“Um, no. I don’t. Guess I never really got into social media,” he admitted, hoping the excuse would suffice.

“Adey said you were kind of private. Here, hand me your phone,” she said, holding her hand out. Marcus was secretly glad he thought to grab the device before he left. He handed it over and Nora started maneuvering through it deftly. After a few minutes, she looked up.

“Okay, smile,” she said, holding the phone up. Marcus smiled, hoping it wouldn’t look as bad as the one Adrian had taken yesterday. Nora smiled. “Perfect.” She typed away for a few more moments before smiling again.

“And done,” she said, handing the phone back to him, seemingly pleased with herself. “You can go back in and add in your personal information later. But now you have Facebook and friended me.”

Marcus looked down at the application, pressing on the photo. His eyebrows raised to see that the photo actually looked good. She had frame it so that most of the food was also in the picture and his smile for once looked relaxed and natural, rather than his usual forced one. A notification popped up. Marcus clicked on it.

“Now we’re friends on Facebook,” Nora stated. The application switched to her profile. At first glance it was chaotic, full of photos and messages from friends, as well as some from Nora herself. Marcus decided he would spend time going through it at home that night and try to glean a bit more about her.

“Thanks,” he said. He had to admit, the more she introduced him to her world, the more he started to think the muggle world was more appealing than the wizarding world.

“You don’t have a lot of apps. New phone?” Nora asked casually. Marcus looked down at the phone he sat on the table.

“Uh, yea… it’s actually my first mobile phone,” he stated. Nora’s eyes went wide.

“You mean, your first smartphone?” she asked. He nodded, not sure of the difference, but went with it.

“I never really needed one before,” he said.

“It’s 2017… and you’re a lawyer. How did you get by without one?” she asked.

“That’s what, uh… couriers are for,” he said, sheepishly. Nora nodded, thinking for a moment.

“I guess that makes sense… Old school,” she said, before looking at him a moment. Marcus fidgeted a bit under her gaze. “You are full of surprises, Mr. Flint.” She smiled warmly and Marcus found himself relaxing.

After they had finished eating and paid the bill, the two stepped outside. Marcus started to walk down the street before Nora stopped him.

“Wait a sec. Give me your phone,” she said. Marcus handed it over. She pulled him over to her and positioned them in front of the glowing sign. With the phone in one hand, she navigated to the camera, pressing a small icon and suddenly Marcus was looking at their faces. Nora looked up at him. “Prepare to take your first selfie, Marcus.”

She squeezed next to him, wrapping an arm around him. He followed suit as she held the phone up, angling it so that the sign shown above their heads.

“Ready… One… two… three!”

They both smiled as she pressed a large red button at the bottom of the screen. Nora held the phone close and looked at it. She held it up for his inspection.

“What do you think?” she asked. Marcus looked down at the photo, instantly liking it.

“Looks good,” he said. Nora smiled and sent it to herself.

“I like it too,” she said, handing his phone back to him. “So… where to next?” She slid her arms in his as they started walking.

“Not sure… is there anything you’d like to do?” he asked. Nora thought a moment.

“There’s actually this really great park near my hotel, if you want to go there,” she suggested. “The weather is so nice, it’d be a shame not to spend time outdoors.” Marcus nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

~~~~

When Nora mentioned the park, he didn’t realize she was taking him to the biggest park in London. Even though he rarely left the wizarding world, he still knew about Hyde Park and was astonished by the sheer size as they walked in. Or that he was actually getting to see it.

The two casually strolled down a path, with Nora occasionally taking photos.

“I love to document my trips,” she said when he gave her an amused look for what seemed like the 20th photo in 10 minutes. She even wrangled him into a few photos with her. She somehow got him to pull a few funny faces, snapping them on her phone. She promised to send them later.

Nora pulled him over to a large pond and the two sat down on the shoreline. Nora had donned a pair of Ray Bans and was busy people watching with her legs stretched out in front of her.

“Do you always stay over here?” he asked. Nora looked over at him.

“Yep. It’s an amazing hotel. Expensive, but worth it. It’s all art deco and I feel like I’m walking into a silent film from the 20s,” she said with a grin. “What do you do in your free time when you’re not lawyering?” Marcus chuckled at her inventive word.

“Ehm, mostly just spend time at home, I guess. I keep up with changes in law, and keep up with current events and such. When I’m not home, I meet up with Pucey and our friends. He gets me tickets to matches often, so I catch as many of those as I can on the weekends,” he said. Nora nodded slowly. “Occasionally me and the lads will do a pickup game. And I work out.”

“So I can tell,” Nora said, cheekily. Marcus blushed slightly.

“What about you?” he asked, turning the spotlight back on her. Nora looked back out to the lake.

“I read a lot actually. Novels of all sorts. Currently I’m in a bit of a thriller phase, but my absolute favorite are fantasy novels. Princes and princesses and knights and dragons and magic,” she said. She looked over him. “I love escaping to a magical world to get away from stress - even if it’s not real. And then I go to a lot of concerts. Spend a lot of time looking up new music online. I love dancing. Planning parties. Going to parties. Oh! And music festivals. Love those.”

They couldn’t be anymore different. He preferred to stay in - she liked going out. She loved music - he knew nothing about it. She loved novels - he loved law books. And yet, somehow it was working. At least for now.

“Hey, you doing anything Wednesday night?” she asked suddenly. Marcus shook his head no. “Good. Adey and I are getting dinner with some of his co-workers. Come with us,” she said grinning. Co-workers. Puddlemere. What was Pucey thinking? How was he going to explain that one to her?

Not to mention co-workers probably included his rival, Oliver Wood. While he didn’t look forward to spending an evening with Wood, he certainly didn’t want to leave him alone with Nora after seeing him chat with her at the club. After just a few days, he felt himself oddly protective of her.

“Sure,” he found himself saying. “Where and when?” Nora grinned.

“Meet me at Adey’s place at 7 p.m. and we’ll all go to the restaurant together and meet the others there,” she said. She jumped slightly and pulled her phone out of her pocket, which was buzzing. She froze slightly then looked up at Marcus.

“Sorry… I need to take this… give me a couple minutes,” she said. She pushed herself off the ground, putting the phone to her ear. “How bad is it?”

Marcus looked out at the lake, but kept glancing as Nora paced slowly just out of earshot. She then stopped facing the lake, looking angry. Though he couldn’t see her eyes behind the sunglasses, her mouth was set in a thin line and her forehead was furrowed. He was expecting to hear her start yelling, but instead she kept her cool. He only knew she was talking because he could see the outline of her lips moving.

She shook her head, then suddenly started laughing as she tossed her head back. Marcus pulled out his phone and snapped a picture while she wasn’t paying attention. He looked at it, deciding it wasn’t as good as a wizarding photo, which would have caught the ripple of the breeze through her hair. But it was good enough. He put his phone away as he noticed her walking back.

“Oi… work stuff,” she said, plopping down next to him.

“New or old?” he asked.

“Old. That was my friend. Said my boss is on the warpath. I’m so glad I’m here instead of there,” she said. Marcus looked at her concerned. “There’s no need to worry. He’s not violent or anything. Just a massive bastard.” Marcus nodded in understanding. Nora looked down at her phone.

“Ugh, I have to get back to the hotel. I’m supposed to meet with the managing editor of the magazine for dinner and I need to get ready,” she said.

“No problem,” Marcus said standing. He then reached down and offered a hand to Nora. She accepted it and he easily lifted her off the ground. Taking his arm, the two began walking towards the park exit. “So… Wednesday at 7?” he asked. She nodded.

“I think we’re going for sushi. I’m so excited,” she said, her eyes flashing with happiness. Marcus chuckled at her enthusiasm for food.

“You’re not one of those foodies, are you?” he asked. Nora laughed.

“God, no. I just enjoy a good meal,” she said.

They arrived at her hotel and Marcus was taken back by the grandeur of the place. It looked luxurious and old, but new at the same time. They stopped in front of the front doors.

“I had a lot of fun today,” Nora said smiling.

“I did as well,” Marcus replied. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the cheek.

“So… date No. 1, one more to decide if I’m too crazy to marry,” she sang as she started to back away from him, grinning.

“Don’t get too cocky, Pucey. I still have to decide if you have good taste in whisky,” he joked.

“Oh I do,” she crooned before laughing and waltzing into the hotel.

“What have you gotten yourself into, Flint,” he murmured to himself before turning and walking away.

~~~~

Marcus had been home about an hour enjoying a book and a glass of whisky on the balcony when the phone rang. He looked at it, noticing Adrian’s name pop up.

“Hello,” he said a bit too loudly.

“Merlin, Flint, you don’t have to yell,” he said.

“Sorry… first phone call,” he said, speaking more normally.

“How was your date?” Pucey asked, reverted back to his normal cheeky self.

“Alright,” Flint said.

“Seems better than alright from how Nor talks,” Pucey said. Marcus sat up.

“You talked to Nora?” he asked. His heart started racing. It was all he could do to keep from immediately asking what she said.

“Yea, for nearly an hour. Wouldn’t shut up. Somedays I think she’s got a problem with that,” Pucey replied.

“Out with it, man. Don’t make me beg,” Flint growled, knowing he was stalling. Pucey laughed.

“She’s into you, Flint,” he said. “Really. She said she invited you to dinner with us on Wednesday. That’s three times in one week.”

“By the way, how exactly are you planning to get away with introducing her to quidditch blokes?” Flint said.

“I told her I’m on the coaching staff for a football team. All the blokes have been warned as well,” he said.

“What happens when she asks for tickets to a match?” Flint countered.

“She won’t. Nor hates football. She zones out anytime I bring it up. Plus she knows nothing about it,” Pucey said. “It’ll be fine. But don’t change the subject. As I was saying - she’s into you.”

Marcus went silent a few moments, battling within himself.

“Don’t do this, Marcus,” Pucey said.

“Do what?”

“You’re still trying to sabotage yourself,” Pucey replied. Marcus rolled his eyes.

“For good reason. She knows nothing about our world and according to you, I can’t tell her,” he replied. “Which for the record, I don’t understand. If her father is a wizard, would that technically make her a squib? It’s not against the law to tell her.” Marcus sighed. “It’s hard to keep seeing her and talking her… and not want to tell her everything.”

Adrian laughed softly.

“Yea… she’s like that… She could get a rock to tell her its life story in five minutes. That’s what makes her so good at what she does,” he said ruefully. “Look, mate, I know it’s difficult. I know you are battling with all the half-truths and lies and keeping things back - trust me, I’ve been doing it since I was 17 - but… it’s what her father wants.”

“She’s not a child anymore. Far from it. She has a right to know,” Marcus shot back.

“You have to understand… he only did it to protect her and her siblings,” Adrian said.

“The war has been over for nearly two decades, Adrian,” Marcus said, rolling his eyes.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Marcus. You know how people in our world treat squibs. That hasn’t changed much,” Pucey replied. “Say you do tell her and then take her to Diagon Alley and try to introduce her to our world. How do you think she’s going to feel when people start looking at her like dirt because of who she is? Something she had no control over?”

Marcus was silent. He hadn’t thought about that. Even though he didn’t care what she was - muggle, squib or otherwise - he hadn’t thought about how the rest of the wizarding world might treat her. She was strong and confident in herself, but there was no telling how that would affect her.

“Look… I understand. But I think the best thing is to wait until her father is ready to tell her. At the very least, he should be the one to break the news so he can explain why,” Adrian said softly.

“And you still think it’s a good idea for me to be involved with her. Even with all that,” Marcus said ruefully.

“Don’t start that again,” Adrian said. “You need her and she needs you…”

“I honestly can’t see how she needs me,” Marcus said.

“Just… there are things you don’t know about her. She puts on a good front, but she needs more people in her life who can be rocks for her. Who aren’t going to flint in and then back out again. And who will treat her right,” Pucey said. “And before you ask, no I’m not saying more. It’s up to her when and if she tells. Just… don’t give up on this yet.”

Marcus sighed.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could even if I tried. Against my better judgement, I can’t imagine backing out now,” he said wearily. Adrian laughed.

“Told you. You’re completely into her. Trust me. This will turn out alright,” he said. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you Wednesday, yea?”

“Yea, see you then,” Marcus replied.

“Cheers, mate.”

“Cheers.”

Marcus hung up and looked at his phone. He went to the Facebook app Nora had installed and opened it up. It filled with non-stop photos and updates from Nora’s page. He pressed her photo and found that it took him to her profile page. Scrolling down, he stopped here and there to look at a photo or chuckle over something she wrote. She was obviously someone who prescribed to the age old adage to live life to the fullest. There were photos of her with friends, at parties, on a beach somewhere. Music festivals. With people he assumed were bands or musicians, though he didn’t recognize them. He stopped on a video and pressed it, interested to see how this video thing worked.

“Hello friends and family,” she chirped brightly. It seemed she was holding the camera herself. “I’m here on the beautiful island of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. As you can see,” the camera changed view, showing a white sand beach and crystal clear water, “it is simply mesmerizing. I went snorkeling in that today. And tonight, I’m hitting up some live bars.” The view changed back to her. She grinned brightly. “Just wanted to let you all know that, yes, I am alive - stop worrying Dad. And I’m having the time of my life just relaxing. See you guys later!” She waved at the camera and the video stopped.

He scrolled down more and stopped on another video, pressing it. Nora’s face appeared with tons of brightly lit buildings behind her. She was standing on a busy street at night with an Asian girl standing next to her.

“Hello world, I’m standing here with Sora Lee,” she said boisterously. Marcus laughed softly, recognizing that she was slightly drunk. “And I just finished an amazing interview with her. Remember the name Sora Lee cause it’s going to be famous someday.”

“I don’t know about that,” the woman said shyly. Nora looked at her.

“Of course you are,” she said. She looked back at the camera. “Anyway, check out her music. It’s good, like, really good. And you can trust me because I only interview really good people.” Sora laughed loudly. She stepped up closer to Nora.

“That’s right! Check out my music!” she shouted.

“And watch out for my upcoming article in Billboard!” Nora shouted. “Ta ta for now!” The two women waved as the video stopped. Marcus scrolled back up to the top, noticing she had just uploading the photos from today. He pressed on of the two of them in the park, grinning. “Hanging out with the coolest dude in London” the caption read. Marcus smiled. He put the phone down and sat back, looking out over Diagon Alley.

There was most definitely something about her. Even though every single logical cell in his body was telling him that it couldn’t go anywhere. That there was no way this - a relationship with a woman who didn’t and couldn’t know he was a wizard - would work out. But there was something in her smile and the way she eagerly accepted him and his lack of knowledge about everyday muggle things that told him maybe it could.


	4. Chapter 4

Marcus showed up at Adrian’s flat at 6:55 p.m. Wednesday. He found a side effect of becoming a lawyer was that he now always showed up everywhere early. He knocked on the door and waited, happy to see Nora answer. She squealed and jumped up to hug him.

“You made it!” she said. Marcus felt a silly grin spread on his face with the woman’s arms wrapped around him. “Come in! Adey’s still primping.” She let go and stepped back, letting him enter. He stepped into the living and turned to look at her as she shut the front door, taking in her outfit for the night. His eyebrows shot up, noticing her black halter top was nearly completely backless, showing off yet another tattoo on her lower right back. It was a large tree with gnarled roots and widespread branches. In the branches were names. She turned around to face him, her pink waves swinging around her face as she stepped over into the living room after him.

“How’s work today?” she asked. He shrugged.

“Good. Mostly a bunch of the same stuff I always do,” he said. Nora nodded.

“More prenups?” she asked, smiling. He chuckled.

“Not too many of those, actually. How was your day?” he asked. Nora shrugged.

“Made some appointments with realtors. Looked into some shows this weekend. Got some shopping done. The usual vacation stuff,” she said.

“Sounds like you had a productive day. I thought vacation was supposed to be about relaxing,” he said. Nora chuckled.

“I do spend some days relaxing but usually I get restless if I’m not doing anything for too long,” she said with a shrug.

“Ah, Flint. Good, you’re here,” Adrian said as he walked into the kitchen. “We ready?” Nora walked over to the sofa and grabbed her jacket and purse. “Showing enough skin there, Nor?” She flipped him off with a smirk as she walked back.

“Let’s go. I’m starving,” she replied.

~~~~

The three laughed and joked in the cab to the restaurant. Adrian smirked at Marcus when Nora wasn’t paying attention, noting his more relaxed demeanor. Marcus glared at him slightly, though he couldn’t deny it. Nora was bringing out a side of him that had long laid dormant.

Once they had arrived, they met up with two other assistant coaches from Puddlemere - August Martins and Riley Adams. Adrian inquired was to when Wood would get there, and Adams replied that he had backed out.

“Something about meeting up with a bird,” he said offhandedly. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief while Adrian rolled his eyes.

“Never changes that one. Always chasing skirts,” he said.

“But, isn’t he technically your boss?” Nora asked, amused.

“Technically, but we were in the same year at school - plus played on the same team for years. Gives me the right to call him a git when he acts like one,” he said. “Well, no matter. Let’s go. We do have a reservation.”

Once they were sat, had ordered and received sake, the two quidditch coaches turned to Nora.

“So you’re this famous cousin we’ve heard so much about,” Adams said. Nora smiled.

“I suppose, unless Adrian’s got other cousins he hangs out with that he hasn’t mentioned to me,” she said.

“Don’t worry, Nor, there is only you,” Adrian said, batting his eyelashes at her. "Though don't tell Eliza." Nora rolled her eyes.

“Good grief,” she muttered with a smile. “Is he this annoying when he coaches?”

“Not usually… he’s probably harder on the players than Wood,” Riley said. “At least they complain more about him.”

“They do not!” Adrian nearly shouted. “There’s no way I’m as fanatical and hard-headed as Wood…”

“What’s this I hear about you moving here?” Martins asked, glancing at Riley and Adrian as he changed the subject, not wanting to get too much into their work. Marcus smiled to himself, glad that he didn’t actually have to hide much about his job. Football and quidditch were nothing alike and he felt for the two trying to pass off what they did as football.

“Took a job at a magazine. Should be starting in a few weeks, once I get moved over. I start looking at places next week,” she replied.

“The music magazine, right?” Martins asked. Marcus glanced at Adrian, wondering if he had schooled his co-workers after last time. Adrian just smiled and winked. Truth be told, Marcus had actually picked up the latest issue to read through it and see what exactly Nora would be doing. She hadn’t actually gotten into what it is exactly. He just remembered her calling the title features editor.

“Yep. I’m excited to get started there,” Nora replied with a grin. “Should be a decent challenge.”

“I’ve never been that into music, but sounds like an interesting job,” Martins replied.

“It is pretty fun. I get to meet and interview some interesting people. I’m the senior features writer, so I’ll mostly just do high-profile interviews and more in-depth pieces. Which are infinitely more fun to do than straight news stuff - which I had to do a lot of at Billboard,” she said.

“She’s won several awards over the years and done a lot of cover articles and features on musicians,” Adrian chimed in. “I think my favorite is the one she did on Elton John. Spent an entire afternoon and evening with him at his London flat.” The two coaches looked at her, impressed. Nora smiled slightly, glancing at her cousin.

“It was definitely a memorable day,” she said. “The spread turned out amazing. And I’m happy that I’m finally somewhere where I can just, focus on that solely. It’ll give me time to work on my book as well.”

“She’s working on a book about the history of Korean hip-hop,” Adrian chimed in. “You’ve finished all the interviews, yea?” Nora nodded.

“Now it’s just organizing and writing,” she said with a sigh. “Though I may have to pop over to Seoul here and there to do some follow-up interviews.”

Marcus sat silent and listened as Adams and Martins peppered her with more questions about her work and some of the stories she had covered. More than anything, he was impressed with her vast knowledge of music, both older and newer musicians and so on. Granted, he didn’t know much about muggle music anyway, but Adams was apparently muggleborn and knew a lot, able to keep the conversation flowing.

“I take it you’ll be hitting up some concerts while you’re here?” Martins said. Several plates of food had arrived and the group had been working on them while continuing to talk.

“Yea, Adey and I are going to see one of my favorite cover bands this Friday,” she said before taking a bite, expertly using her chopsticks.

“Actually, about that - something came up and I can’t make it,” Adrian said. Nora pouted.

“What? No! You can’t cancel on me!” she whined. Though Marcus could see the slight glint in her eye.

“I know, I know. But I thought maybe Marcus might be interested in going with you. He could use a music education,” Adrian said, settling his gaze on his friend. Everyone looked at Flint, whose eyes had gone wide as he slowly chewed.

“True… he seems a bit clueless when it comes to all things music-related,” Nora said, studying him. He swallowed and gathered his thoughts, slightly thrown off after the spotlight was suddenly on him.

“I’m free that night,” he said. “Suppose I could go. Haven’t been to a concert in a long time.” Technically true… if balls count as concerts. There was music there. Adrian smirked across the table as Nora grinned.

“Then it’s settled,” she said. She then looked over at her cousin. “Pray tell, what is it that’s more important than spending time with your favorite cousin. If you say a date, I will smack you.”

“No, I got last minute tickets to a match. My friend’s team,” he said. Nora rolled her eyes.

“God… I’m being stood up for football,” she said.

“Do you not like football?” Riley asked.

“She abhors it,” Adrian said.

“I don’t hate it,” Nora countered, sending a glare at him. “I just… prefer other sports. I find it a little boring.”

“Boring? You’re willing to go and sit through and hours-long baseball game, but you find football boring? At least the players are constantly moving in football,” Adrian said.

“Do not,” Nora said, pointing her chopsticks at Adrian, “diss my sport. Baseball is America’s pastime.”

“You just called my sport boring,” Adrian said. “I think it’s fair game to ‘diss’ your sport, then.”

The two cousins went back and forth for a few minutes, trading barbs over which sport was better. The three remaining men found themselves laughing constantly. Adrian was notorious for his teasing, though Nora gave as good as she got. They seemed more like brother and sister than they did cousins.

“Plus there is nothing like going to the ballpark, getting a hot dog or popcorn and a giant cold beer and enjoying a good game,” Nora said, sitting back in her chair, her arms crossed in front of her.

“You can do all that, plus team chants,” Adrian said.

“I have to admit, the chants are fun,” Adams said.

“But they are a bit distracting,” Marcus said. All four turned to look at him.

“Of course, you’d take Nor’s side,” Adrian said.

“Nah, I’ve just always preferred to sit and watch the game over chanting,” he said shrugging.

“Yea, that’s right… former player and captain at school. Probably trying to decipher all the plays,” Martins said.

“For the most part,” Flint replied. Nora smiled slightly at him. “Never been to a baseball game though.”

“Do they even have baseball here?” Adams asked.

“They do. British Baseball Federation,” Nora replied. Adrian stared at her. “What? If I’m moving here, I had to make sure I could still get my baseball fix.”

“You’re going to end up dragging me to games, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Not if you’re going to put on an attitude,” she shot back. “Rather go alone if you’re going to complain the whole time.” Adrian chuckled.

“Take Marcus. He likes all sports so he’ll probably enjoy it,” Adrian said. Martins and Adams both laughed. By now they had picked up on the fact that Adrian was doing everything he could to throw his cousin and best friend together. Granted, both Nora and Marcus were willingingly going on with it, openly flirting whenever they got the chance.

Adams was in near shock. He had been in Gryffindor in the same year as Adrian and mostly remembered Marcus as a hulking brute with limited vocabulary and a vicious reputation on the pitch. It was something completely different to see him now - relaxed, smiling, joking. And obviously very interested in a muggle woman.

Perhaps people do change, he thought to himself.

The dinner lasted a few hours, with more food than any of them thought possible to eat. They said their good-byes and then Adrian, Nora and Marcus headed back to Adrian’s place for a few more drinks. Adrian and Nora traded embarrassing stories about each other, while Marcus and Adrian talked about their school days (or as much as they could, at least). Marcus even divulged a few of Adrian’s more embarrassing moments.

It was a weeknight, so eventually they had to call it a night. Marcus walked Nora to a cab outside Adrian’s flat. She said she would send him details on where to meet her Friday the next day and kissed him on the cheek before sliding into the cab. Marcus watched it disappear down the street before stepping into a nearby alley and apparating to his building in Diagon Alley.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he walked into his flat, thinking back over the night. He found himself looking forward to the concert Friday night.


	5. Chapter 5

“Marcus! You made it!” Nora exclaimed as she ran up outside the bar and hugged him. It was dingy and looked like somewhere completely unsafe for her to be at alone. “I was just chatting with the bar manager. They’re about to start. Let’s go.” She looped her arm through his and pulled him through the doors, waving at the bouncer as they went in.

Tonight she was in a black motorcycle jacket with a fitted white v-neck t-shirt, dark skinny jeans and black pointy-toed stilettos. Pansy wore similar footwear every day and often complained she couldn’t do it without charms. The fact that the muggle woman was wearing them sans charms and able to maneuver in them easily seemed shocking to him.

“I love these guys. Discovered them a few summers ago when I was here visiting Adey,” she explained as she led him to the bar. “Gin and tonic,” she shouted at the bartender and looked up at Marcus.

“Uh… Jameson… on the rocks,” he said, still unfamiliar with the names of muggle alcohol. Nora pulled out her wallet. “Oh no, let me,” he started as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He had gone earlier in the day to exchange money at Gringotts, after consulting with Adrian on the proper amount needed for a night out in London.

“No, it’s fine. I invited you. Let me get the first round,” she insisted with a smile. Marcus returned it and put his wallet back.

“Thanks,” he said. Nora paid and they waited for the drinks while a band on a small stage tuned up.

“They mostly play covers from the late 90s and early 2000s, but really, that’s my favorite,” Nora continued.

“To be honest, I’ve never been one for music, but I trust your judgment,” he said. Nora laughed and shook her head.

“I’ve met some people who are clueless about music, but you Marcus Flint, certainly take the cake,” she replied. Marcus flushed slightly. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. You are in luck, because I love introducing people to all kinds of music they may have never heard before.” She turned and grabbed their drinks, handing Marcus’ his, then grabbed his arm and pulled him to a table towards the back. They were behind the crowd, but could still see the stage.

“Do you make a habit of running off to dodgy places on your own at night?” Marcus asked, looking around. Nora laughed.

“Only when good music is involved,” she replied.

“Ms. Pucey, I dare say you have absolutely no fear,” he said, thinking she’d probably have been a Gryffindor had she gone to Hogwarts. The thought made him chuckle. Here he was, a Slytherin, on his second date with a Gryffindor. Nora blushed slightly and shrugged.

“That’s why they invented mace,” she said.

“Mace?” Marcus asked confused. Nora nodded and dug around in her purse then presented a small black contraption.

“Point it at their face, then press this button and pepper spray comes out. They’ll be down writhing in pain long enough to run away or kick them in the balls,” she stated. Marcus nodded, impressed with the ingenuity of muggles. She looked at the stage and sat up.

“They’re starting!”

Marcus turned and watched as the band started strumming the opening chords of a song. He had to admit, he was enjoying it. He thought he would spend some time on the music app, so that next time he’d be more familiar with the songs. He felt his entire body tingle at the thought of going to another concert with her. And many more concerts. He had to admit that the more time he spent with the muggle woman, the more he wanted to learn about her world. From the way she spoke and acted, it seemed like an even more magical place than the wizarding world.

Part of him wished he could introduce her to the music in his world. If she found muggle music entrancing, then she would most definitely fall in love with it. He shook his head slightly. Wouldn’t do to think that way.

He mustered a glance at her. She was sitting back in her chair, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, tapping out a beat on her legs with the music. She moved her head in time with the music, a small smile playing across her lips. It was intoxicating watching her. He ended up gazing at her through the next few songs more so than the band.

Once a particularly fast-paced song started, Nora jumped up, grabbing Marcus’ hand.

“Let’s dance!” she exclaimed, pulling him out of his chair. They joined several other couples in the space behind the tables dancing, spinning and twirling around. Nora laughed and smiled non-stop. “I love dancing! Feels like flying!”

_“If only I could take you flying for real…”_ Marcus thought sadly. But he couldn’t. Even though they had just met a week ago, he couldn’t help but wish he could tell her everything about his life. Not just that he was a wizard and magic exists, but about everything - the fact that he was for the most part disowned from his family, his divorce, dealing with the glares he still got from time to time being a Slytherin.

“Never thought I’d see the day where Marcus Flint is out in the muggle world,” a familiar voice said from behind. Marcus stopped dancing and turned to see none other than Oliver Wood. Nora stepped up next to him as his eyes widened.

“God, you Brits have funny words for things. I haven’t heard that one,” she said, looking from one man to the other. A look of recognition came over her face. “Oh, right! The dude from the club. Oliver, wasn’t it?” He grinned at her, turning on his legendary charm.

“Aye, you’re right there, lass. Nora, wasn’t it?” he asked. She nodded. “Wasn’t aware you knew Flint here.”

“I know, small world. Marcus is a friend of my cousin’s,” she said. Wood looked confused.

“Cousin?” he asked.

“This is Nora Pucey… Adrian’s cousin from the U.S.,” Marcus said, smirking slightly as the old rivalry reared up inside him.

“Wait… so you’re Pucey’s cousin?” Wood replied. Nora laughed.

“Yea, how do you know my cousin?” she asked.

“I’m the head coach of the team he works for,” Oliver replied. Nora’s eyes widened.

“Ah… the skirt chaser who cancelled the last minute on Wednesday,” she said. Marcus coughed into his hand, to cover up his laughter. Nora really didn’t have a filter. Oliver gave her an odd look. “Sorry… that’s what Adrian called you.” Wood chuckled as he looked from the small woman back to Flint, who had slid an arm around her waist protectively. It finally hit him what was going on.

“Merlin, are you two here on a date?” he asked, starting to laugh harder. Nora frowned, not understanding the joke. Marcus began to scowl as he clenched his hand into a fist. “I never thought I’d see the day...”

Nora pulled herself up to her full height as Marcus began to seethe.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her and glaring at him. Wood realized his mistake.

“Oh, no, no, lass. That was no insult to you… You’re absolutely lovely. It’s just… Flint here… well... Trust me, you’d be saving yourself a lot of grief by running far away in the opposite direction,” he said. Nora narrowed her eyes at him as Marcus took a step forward.

“As usual, you don’t know shit, Wood,” Marcus said, fuming.

“That so, Flint. I recall kicking your arse a few times on the pitch back in the day. Reckon I could do the same now,” he said, getting into Marcus’ face. Suddenly, the two were being pushed apart. They both looked down in surprise, seeing Nora in between them, both of her hands up against their chests.

“Okay, I don’t know what went down between you two back in the day, but I don’t fucking care. Christ, you’re in your 40s. Stop acting like children,” she said, looking back and forth between the two who were starting to look ashamed. She then put her arms down and turned to face Wood. “And for your information, _I_ get to choose who I date and right now, I’m dating Marcus. I know he’s got a past, but I don’t fucking care because all I care about is who he is now. Which has been nothing but sweet, kind and a hell of a lot better than you.” Flint’s eyes widened as he watched her, becoming more and more impressed. She grabbed Flint’s hand, then turned and grabbed her purse from the table.

“Come on, let’s go, Marcus,” she said, pulling him out.

~~~~

“What is his fucking problem?” Nora fumed as they walked down the sidewalk. She stepped out into the street and hailed a cab. Marcus followed her. “The Wellesley Knightbridge.”

Nora crossed her arms and sat back against the seat, huffing. She looked at Marcus.

“Was he that big a prick in school?” she asked. Marcus chuckled.

“Yea… though it’s a bit more complicated than that,” he said. Nora studied him a moment.

“I provide the whisky, you provide the details?” she asked, smiling slightly. Marcus smiled and nodded.

“Deal.”

It seemed like minutes later, they were pulling up to the hotel. Nora paid the cabbie and they got out, walking through an ornate lobby towards the lifts. She pressed a button as Marcus attempted not to look around too much. He wasn’t used to muggle hotels or lifts.

They reached the third floor and he followed Nora down the hall to her room. She slipped a plastic card into the door and it beeped before she pushed it open. She flipped on the lights and continued walking in as Flint followed, stepping into a large sitting room with a balcony. Nora slipped her shoes off, then proceeded to dig through her purse for something. Pulling out a small box, she tossed her purse on the sofa, she walked straight to the balcony, pushing the doors open.

Marcus followed, not sure what was going on. She opening the box and pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth. She lit it and looked up at Marcus.

“Oh, sorry… I hope you don’t mind, you can stay inside if it bothers you,” she said. Marcus shrugged. As odd as it was, he found the aroma comforting.

“Doesn’t bother me,” he said. Nora smiled appreciatively and took a long drag on it, tilting her head back as she exhaled a stream of smoke into the air.

“Been trying to quit for ages, but anytime I get remotely stressed or worked up, I’m back to square one,” she said. “My ex used to gripe that it’s a disgusting habit. And I know it is… but sometimes you can’t help it.”

“My ex used to say the same thing about me and… sports,” Marcus said, catching himself. Nora laughed softly.

“Dare say sports are a lot healthier for you than smoking,” she quipped. Marcus chuckled.

“Apparently not when you spend more time at games than at home with your wife. We all have our vices, it would seem.” Nora smiled at him appreciatively.

“Yea, but I would probably be at the games with you,” she said. She turned and looked out over the park, missing Marcus blush.

“It’s really a beautiful view,” Marcus said, stepping up beside her.

“It is,” she said, not looking away. “I’m hoping I can find an apartment I can afford with a balcony. I don’t think I’d survive without a place to sit outside for my coffee in the morning and a glass of wine at night.”

“I know the feeling. My place has a balcony and I spend nearly all my time out there when the weather's nice,” he said. Nora looked over at him and smiled.

“Maybe you should help me look then,” she said. “I’m meeting a few realtors next week. Adrian has offered, but I could use a third opinion from a fellow balcony lover.” Marcus nodded.

“Let me know the days and times and I’ll arrange to take some time off,” he said. Nora quickly finished her cigarette and flicked it over the balcony ledge and turned.

“Now, I promised whisky,” she said, walking back into the room. Marcus followed. “You can have a seat.” She quickly grabbed a bottle off a bar and set it on the coffee table, then turned to grab two glasses and filled them with ice from a fridge. She then walked over and plopped down on the sofa next to him. Leaning forward, she filled the glasses and then handed one to Marcus, curling her legs up underneath her.

“Alright. Spill. The story with you and Oliver Wood,” she said, taking a sip.

“Well… we were sort of rivals in school,” he started slowly, trying to figure out how to explain truthfully without giving away too much. “We were both the captains of football teams. So… we were always at each other’s throats. And constantly competing.”

Nora nodded, following.

“My and Adrian’s team had a bit of a reputation for being…”

“Brutal?” Nora offered. Marcus looked up at her. “Adrian’s told me some things.” Flint nodded, really not wanting to continue. He didn’t want her to look at her differently because of his past. “Hey… it’s okay. I meant what I said. I don’t care about your past. I just care about who you are now. Besides… we all have pasts.”

Even though he just met her, he felt he could trust her.

“To be honest… I was the bigger prick in school. I was a bully. Everyone in my group that I hung out with, we all came from certain families. Old money. Old fashioned. The… aristocracy, if you will. They had certain beliefs. You only marry old money. You marry young. And you only marry who your family approves of. And anyone who didn’t fit into that perfect mold didn’t exist,” he said. Nora nodded, taking another sip of her drink.

“Adey’s family was - is - the same,” she said. She wasn’t asking, simply stating a fact.

“Yea,” Marcus said.

“I suppose that’s why my dad left,” she said. Marcus looked at her, not even thinking about how this affected her. She was looking off into space. “He never talked about it. But it makes sense.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Could you imagine what my grandparents would say if they saw us? My mother was an artist. I’m a music reporter. Tattoos and everything.”

They both drank silently for a moment before Nora spoke again.

“Did you feel the same?” she finally asked quietly. She looked up at him.

“There was a time when I did,” he said honestly. “My marriage… My ex-wife fit in that world well. At the time we met, I believe that I did love her. But as time went on and things changed, I realized that I had changed. And my family and wife had not.” He was staring at his glass, worried what he would see if he looked at her.

“How long ago?” she asked. Marcus looked up at her, relieved to see that there was no judgement or pity there.

“It’s been a year. This is actually the first time I’ve dated since then,” he said.

“Irreconcilable differences?”

Marcus laughed.

“Yea, she saw herself with five other men rather than me,” he responded ruefully.

“Man… tough break,” she said. Marcus took a large drink before laughing slightly.

“You can say that,” he replied. He looked at her a moment. He wasn’t sure if it was the atmosphere of honesty or the whisky, but he felt a bit bold. “What about you? Why did you stay single all these years?”

Nora sighed and downed her whisky then leaned forward to pour more into her glass.

“That is the question on everyone’s mind,” she said. “Just… nothing ever worked out. I had a great example of how marriage should be. My parents were utterly and completely in love with each other. Sure, they fought and all, but at the end of the day, they were best friends, lovers, confidantes and partners in everything. I guess I just… want that and never wanted to settle for anything less.” She looked at Marcus and took another sip. “And my mom always said I was too ambitious for my own good.” Marcus chuckled, thinking she would have been a good Slytherin. But there was a lightness and friendliness to her that screamed Hufflepuff.

“You said were,” Marcus replied, catching it. Nora nodded.

“My mother died six years ago… that’s why I have her initials tattooed on my wrist,” she said. Marcus nodded. Suddenly he remembered she also had one for her brother and grandparents.

“But wait… your tattoos… your brother?” he asked. Nora nodded slowly, her eyes tearing up slightly.

“Four years ago. He was 17. It was a car accident,” she said softly. “My grandmother passed a few months later. She always spoke about wanting to join my mom, grandfather and brother. I guess her heart couldn’t handle that much grief. Now it’s just me, my sister and my dad. And, well, Adrian.”

Marcus looked at the woman sitting next to him in a new light. Sure he pitied her loss, but more than that, he admired her strength and courage to push forward and live life to the fullest. Maybe he was wrong. That sense of bravery and adventure… perhaps she would have been Gryffindor. He also now understood why Adrian said she needed him too. And why the two were so close.

“I’m sorry… Adrian never said anything,” Marcus replied. Nora sighed.

“He wouldn’t. My mom… that was difficult for all of us. But my brother… I thought that would break us,” she said. Marcus thought back four years.

“So that’s why he was gone for a few months,” he murmured.

“Yea, he came and stayed with us for a bit,” she replied. “That’s also why I moved back to the U.S. Dad and my sister needed me.”

“What made you want to move here?” Marcus asked.

“Adventure,” Nora replied cheekily. Marcus chuckled. “And well… I got into a rut at my old place. My boss promised he’d promote me. And I worked my ass off for him too. But he constantly looked me over. He’d always say, ‘Next time, Nor. Next time.’” She sighed. “Not to mention he and I dated for a few years - against my better judgment. He cheated - twice - with his personal assistants. So I broke up with him, but… he was still my boss. So, I decided it was time to blow that popsicle stand and move somewhere where I would actually enjoy work again.”

“I don’t see how any bloke could possibly cheat on you,” Marcus said truthfully. Nora laughed.

“Apparently it’s not that hard,” she said bitterly before taking a drink.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m certainly glad you’re moving here,” he said truthfully. Nora beamed at him.

“I am too. Perhaps this is a new beginning for both of us,” she mused. She held her glass out to him, he clinked his against hers and they both downed them.

“Well, this has been a depressing conversation,” he said, reaching for the bottle.

“Oh god yes, please let’s move on to happier subjects,” Nora said holding her glass out. He filled hers up.

For the next few hours, the two of them worked through the bottle. At one point Nora grabbed her phone and switched through various songs, explaining the band or the lyrics. They talked about happier times from their childhoods. Embarrassing stories. Everything. Marcus found it easy to talk to her, despite the fact he had to tell small or half lies here and there to hide his true upbringing.

At one point, Nora came back from the bathroom and flopped down on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder as she tried not to spill her drink.

“Man… the more I think about it, the more I think Oliver Wood really is a bit of prick,” she stated. “I mean, you were kind of a bigger prick back then, but at least you grew out of it.” Marcus laughed, glancing down at her. He cautiously moved his arm so that she was cuddling up to his side. Nora took it in stride. She looked up at him and smiled, suddenly sitting up. His arm was still wrapped around her.

“You think… maybe… us meeting was some sort of destiny?” she asked, slightly seriously. Both were getting sloshed. Marcus pondered a moment.

“Perhaps… what makes you say that?” he asked. Nora sat up, but scooted closer to him, setting her glass down.

“Think about it… I’m leaving a horrible job and relationship to come here for a new start. And you… you’re moving on from a failed marriage, looking for a new start as well. Stay with me… but maybe… we met because we’re supposed to help each other?” she said. She was looking at him so earnestly, that Marcus couldn’t help but believe it himself.

“Maybe… just maybe you’re right,” he said before smiling. Nora grinned, obviously happy with herself.

_“Definitely a Hufflepuff,”_ Marcus couldn’t help thinking. Nora glanced away, lightly biting at her lower lip. That slight movement entranced him. Suddenly, all he could think about was kissing her. He took a deep breath, causing Nora to look at him again.

Merlin, those eyes. Those soul-piercing eyes. At first he thought they were a deep blue like a calm sea, but up close, he could see bits of silver in them, causing them to look more like the restless sea just before a storm. In that moment, Marcus felt like she could see everything. All the lies. But at the same time, he felt as though even if he left out magic - a huge part of his life no doubt - she knew him better than anyone.

He slowly leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against hers.

“I thought you’d never get around to that,” she breathed with a smile. She leaned forward to press her lips against his again. This time, he sat up as well, placing his glass down and then bringing his hand to her cheek. Then running it through her hair. Nora took a deep breath as they deepened the kiss. She maneuvered herself so that she was straddling him on the couch. Marcus wrapped his other arm around her lower back, dropping his other to her waist as Nora took his face her hands.

Everything flew out of Marcus’ mind as all he thought about was Nora’s lips against his, her body pressed up against his. A warmth quickly spread through him as shivers ran up and down his spine. His lips moved from her mouth, making a hot trail down her neck as she moaned softly.

“Marcus,” she breathed, her eyes half closed as though she were relishing every second. A thrill shot through him when she said his name. He stopped and looked at her, breathing heavily as his heart pounded.

“Bedroom,” he whispered. Nora nodded as an impish grin spread across her face. She stood and pulled him up. Immediately, his lips were back on hers as he pulled up the hem of her shirt, wanting nothing more than to feel her skin against his.

This was not where he had expected the night to go.

~~~~

Marcus blinked his eyes open, grimacing at the slight headache settling in. As his eyes came into focus, he took his surroundings. He was automatically aware that he wasn’t at home, but rather in an unfamiliar room. Shifting slightly, he looked over, noticing the sleeping form next to him.

Suddenly memories floated in from the night before. The bar. The band. Wood showing up. Nora stepping in between the two. Her small hand placed in the middle of his chest. Being dragged out. The two of them sitting in the living room of her suite, drinking whisky. The confessions.

The kiss.

Flint took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Clothes being pulled off. The feel of her skin against his. Her eyes, peering into him. Her lips against his. All over his body. His eyes flew open as he felt himself stirring below. Nora moved next to him, rolling over. Her blue eyes opened, looking up at him. A lazy smile graced her face.

“Mornin’,” she crooned, an arm snaking across his chest. “Sleep well?” He nodded, unable to speak out of fear he would take her again that second. She laughed softly as she lifted up and kissed him gently. “Would you relax, Marcus.”

“Sorry… it’s just… been awhile,” he stuttered. Nora laughed again.

“I told you… you don’t have to worry about that,” she said. He nodded, feeling himself relax. He rolled onto his side, running his hand through her hair.

“You’re like no one I’ve ever met,” he said softly, perplexed.

“You should get out more,” she said with a laugh. Marcus lifted up and leaned in, kissing her. Immediately, her body started to react, moving closer to him as she slid her arm down to his waist, around and up his back, her fingers light against his skin. A deep moan reverberated through his body as his hand moved down her body, gripping her waist. He began kissing her more fervently.

“Ah, someone woke up excited to see me,” she said with a grin. Marcus laughed softly.

“Nor, for once, just shut up,” he said while smiling, causing her to laugh harder.

“Gladly.”


	6. Chapter 6

The time Nora had been in London went by too quickly and soon she was gone, back in the U.S. Marcus knew it was only for a few weeks - she would be back and here indefinitely, though Marcus hoped permanently. But he still missed her. The two had met up nearly every night the rest of her trip, unable to get enough of each other. He had ended up spending nearly every night with her in her hotel room.

Adrian had taken to teasing Marcus every chance he could, often sending text messages along the lines of “Flint and Nora, sitting in a tree… KISSING,” which had the older man rolling his eyes. Even at 42, Adrian never really grew up.

Marcus and Nora were constantly texting, but when she had suggested video chatting, he freaked out, immediately calling Adrian while he was out with the coaching staff for drinks, frantically asking what it was. Adrian calmed him down, saying he’d take him out to buy a laptop the next day. Also told him to tell Nora that his was in the shop but he would tell her when they could chat.

Flint was more engaged in laptop shopping. He had picked up a tech magazine before they went shopping and read all that he could about the latest models, using the internet function on his phone to look up the terms and such that he didn’t understand. Thank Merlin some muggleborn had created an app for wizards who were unfamiliar with the muggle world. Adrian, as expected, teased him relentlessly throughout the whole thing, saying that he must really be into Nora if he was doing all this studying to learn about muggle things.

Marcus just glared at him and continued asking questions.

Once he had made his purchase during lunch, he left the office early to go home and set it up. He marveled at its smooth metal casing and spent about an hour reading through everything to figure out how to customize the laptop and download the proper programs for video chat. Once that was done and he had set one of the photos of them from the park as his background, he messaged Nora to tell her that he had his laptop back and could chat when she had time.

Nora immediately replied that she was free at the moment, so he fired up the program and called her.

Nora’s grinning face filled the screen almost immediately. Marcus could see rays from the evening sun falling through several windows along one wall. Nora herself was seated on the floor, surrounded by boxes. A mostly empty bookshelf was behind her while a guitar sat off to the side in a stand.

“So good to see your face,” she said, getting settled. She was in a tank top and yoga pants with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. “I’ve been packing all day and could use a break.”

“How is that going?” Marcus asked. Nora looked at the chaos around her.

“Slow-going if you hadn’t noticed,” she said. “I never realized how much stuff I have. Thrown out quite a lot as well.” Marcus chuckled, thanking Merlin that he could use magic the last time he had moved. He couldn’t imagine having to do all that the muggle way.

“Looks like it’s a bit overwhelming,” he said. Nora nodded and rolled her eyes.

“Tell me about it. The magazine hired a moving service to come pick it all up and ship it over - they’ll also pack some of it for me as well, but I wanted to get personal stuff taken care of before they got here later this week,” she said.

“Did you settle on a date?” Marcus asked. Nora nodded.

“They are coming this Thursday and I’m leaving next Wednesday. Should arrive at my new place the same day as all my stuff. And then unpack everything,” she replied. “Thankfully, they gave me a week and a half to get settled before I start work.”

“Is that enough time?” Marcus asked. He honestly had no clue how long it took to set up a flat the muggle way. Nora snorted.

“It’ll have to be,” she said. “Still need to go buy furniture and dishes and everything. I already ordered some before I left so at least I would have a bed and couch when I get there, but everything else…”

“Let me know if you need a second opinion,” he said, thinking he might enjoy furniture shopping with Nora. “You’ll need a table or something for the balcony.” Nora smiled.

“Oh, trust me. You will be forced to undergo the agony with me,” she said. “I’m a baby when it comes to furniture shopping. To be honest, I’d much rather just do it all online. I’ll probably end up ordering all my kitchen stuff online before I leave, anyway.” Marcus laughed her, finding her whining to be endearing. It wasn’t childish, much like Pansy had been. More like she would much rather spend her time on something more worthwhile.

“What time are you getting in on Wednesday?” he asked. Nora looked around her, searching for something. She picked up her phone and looked at it a moment.

“My flight lands around 7 p.m. so after I get through immigration and my luggage, it’ll probably be around 8:30 or 9 p.m. by the time I get to the apartment,” she said, reading the screen.

“If you’re up for it, I could stop by and bring food,” he offered. “Or I could fetch you from the airport.” Nora looked at him and smiled gratefully.

“The magazine has arranged a car for me, but I won’t say no to food,” she said.

“Alright, that’s settled. I’ll come around 9:30 p.m. Give you time to freshen up if you want... Did you manage to go into the office today?” he asked. Nora had been putting off going in to clean out her desk since she got back, not wanting to face her old boss/ex-boyfriend. Nora scrunched her nose up.

“No…” she admitted. Marcus laughed softly at her.

“Nor, darling, you have to go in eventually,” he said.

“But… it’s nothing important. I can just… get all new stuff in London,” she whined.

“I know you don’t want to see Mark, but you have to retrieve your things. And you’ll regret not saying good-bye to your co-workers,” he countered. Nora sighed and rested her head on her right hand.

“You’re right. Why are you right? You know me too well,” she said. The comment sat warmly in Flint’s stomach. Though it had only been a few weeks, he felt as though he knew Nora for years. “How did lunch with your mother go, by the way.” It was Marcus’ turn to frown.

“Not particularly well,” he started.

“Still not over the whole divorce thing?” she asked. Marcus nodded.

“And well… I told her about you,” he said. Nora’s eyebrows flew up as she sat up.

“Really… how did that go over?” she asked, suddenly becoming visibly nervous. Marcus chuckled to himself. For all her bravado in everything else - save facing her old boss - it was interesting to see her somewhat anxious about something.

Marcus thought over the exchange, trying to decide how best to frame it. He had told his mother that he was dating again - which perked her up a bit. When he had told her it was Frederick Pucey’s daughter, she went silent a few moments. He could almost see the inner turmoil. On the one hand, the Pucey’s were a renown pureblood family. At this point, even a disgraced pureblood name was better than none. On the other, Frederick had turned his back on his pureblood roots during the first war and married a muggle woman. They had helped keep many muggleborn and blood traitors safe during the war before immigrating to the U.S. He didn’t mention the fact that Nora was a squib, feeling it best to introduce one big thing at a time. It was bad enough that his mother would deduct that she was half-blood.

His mother still mostly adhered to the old pureblood traditions. While part of her did genuinely want to see her only son happy, it was still a bit beyond her to accept him with a half-blood.

“She… wasn’t particularly thrilled. But said she would… try and warm up to the idea. And break the news gently to my father in the hopes he wouldn’t disinherit me right away,” he said. Nora’s eyes widened.

“Would they really do that? Just because you’re dating me?” she asked, worried. “I mean… I think we have a really great thing going on, Marcus, but I don’t know how I feel about you getting disinherited because of me.” He laughed softly.

“There’s no need for you to worry about that, Nor. I’ve been basically disinherited in every way save legally for the past year since the divorce. Even before that, my parents were sore with me for years. I’ve got my own business so at this point it wouldn’t really mean anything,” he said, hoping to calm her worries. “Besides, if Adrian can survive, I’m more than sure I can.” Nora smiled, seeming somewhat relieved.

“Well… good. Because I kinda, sorta told Dad about you,” she said.

“And how did that go over?” Marcus asked, feeling nervous. In fact, he was more nervous about how her father would react to her dating him than his parents about her. He knew Nora was incredibly close to her father. And that her father knew his full family history - though not his recent history.

“He seemed surprised, to be honest,” she said. “Asked a lot of questions like your job and where you lived and such. How long we’ve been dating and how we met and so on.” Marcus gulped.

“He didn’t seem angry or anything?” he asked cautiously. Nora laughed and looked at him as though he had just asked the most preposterous thing.

“No, why would he? He hasn’t even met you,” she said, still chuckling. “Besides, the main thing that matters to my dad is that I’m happy. And I am.” Marcus couldn’t help but smile.

“I am too. Much happier than I’ve been in a long time,” he said. It may have been relatively early to tell his mother about Nora - they had only known each other four weeks at this point and dating for maybe three and a half weeks - but something told him that this wasn’t some passing fling.

“Aw, you’re getting all touchy-feely,” Nora crooned. Marcus couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“Watch it, Pucey,” he warned. “I do have a reputation to uphold.” Nora nearly fell over on her side she was laughing so hard.

“Yes, how could I forget. The silent, brooding former bully. Got it,” she said, her eyes twinkling. Marcus shook his head. It was bad enough he had to deal with one smart-mouthed Pucey. Now he had two.

“Say, how good are you at that guitar there? Or is it merely decoration?” he asked. Nora looked at the guitar and back at Marcus.

“I doubt I’ll make lead singer in a band, but I’m not too bad,” she said. “Why?”

“Play me something,” he said. Nora blushed slightly.

“You don’t want to hear that… I’m mean, I only studied for a bit-”

“Well, if you’re too afraid, then that’s okay,” Marcus said, shrugging, knowing it would induce the inherent sense of competition that ran throughout the Pucey bloodline. Nora raised an eyebrow and then reached over and grabbed the guitar, smirking at him. Marcus settled back, happy that he had won this round. She would get him back at some point in the near future.

Nora looked up at the ceiling, thinking a moment, before she looked at the guitar and started strumming softly.

“What if I never fell in love last May… what if I did, what if I didn’t?” she started singing softly. “What if we never got drunk that day… and talked about it, I’ll never forget.” Marcus sat up, surprised. He knew she would be good, but he wasn’t expecting her to be that good. Nora glanced at him every so often, but for the most part had gotten lost in the song.

“But we live… and we lie… we laugh… and we cry… and we learn… to survive… and we stop asking why... I don’t need no religion… Darling, you’re enough to believe in… all this questionin’ everything, let it all go. Who are we? What would be, all that I know... ‘Cause you’re enough to believe in,” she sang.

Marcus felt himself getting lost in the song as well. Upon further listening to the lyrics, he wondered if she wrote it because it seemed to describe them completely.

“You’re what I believe in… you’re what I believe in…”

Marcus blinked after she had finished the song, almost as though he was waking from a dream. Nora had put the guitar back on the stand and had just turned back to him.

“Did you write that?” he asked. Nora laughed and shook her head.

“Nah, I’m not that good. It’s a song called ‘What If’ by a guy named Adam Friedman,” she said. “I just play covers. Wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to write my own music. Hence… why I write about music and musicians rather than being one myself.” She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them, wrapping her arms around her legs.

“Where did you learn to play like that?” Marcus asked. “It was really good. All of it. You sure you don’t want to be a professional singer?” Nora laughed loudly.

“I definitely need to take you around to some open mics and concerts when I get back if you think that was good,” she said. “I taught myself how to play in high school. I even taught Adey how to play.”

“Wait, are you serious? How come I’ve never known this?” he asked, smiling.

“Not sure… maybe it’s something he only does to impress the ladies,” Nora said, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Though sometimes when we get together, we’ll bring them out and do a mini jam session.”

Marcus grinned, matching Nora’s glint.

“I’ve got to hear this after you move here,” he said. Nora laughed.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get him to bring his guitar over when I have the housewarming party,” she said giggling. Marcus looked at the time, noticing how late it had gotten. In New York, the sun had gone down and he had to get up for work tomorrow. They ended up talking for a couple hours and it was now passed midnight.

“Well, I’m afraid I should probably get to bed,” he said, looking back up at Nora. “Otherwise I’ll be up all night talking to you.”

“It’s only about a week until I’m back. And then I’m there for good,” she said, smiling.

“I miss you,” Marcus found himself saying.

“Miss you too,” Nora said softly.

“Just seven more days,” he murmured. Nora smiled.

“Get to bed. I won’t have you blaming me if you’re tired and screw up a deed or prenup tomorrow,” she laughed.

“‘Night, Nor.”

“Night, Marcus.”

The computer screen went blank as Nora disconnected. Marcus sat and stared at it moment and began chuckling to himself as he closed the laptop and took it inside. If only his parents could see him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Nora sings is called "What If" by Adam Friedman. If you can find the acoustic version somewhere, definitely recommend. The main version is really good as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Marcus could hear music getting louder as he neared the door to Nora’s flat. He still couldn’t quite believe that she was now here - in London. And she wasn’t planning to go anywhere. He smiled as he glanced down at the overnight bag in one hand while the other held a bag of takeout.

Before he knocked on the door, Nora swung it open, grinning. Which wasn’t surprising considering she had just buzzed him in the building.

“I don’t know which I’m more excited about, you or the food,” she said as she launched herself into his arms. Marcus chuckled.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll have just me and the food will be on the floor,” he said, barely keeping a hold of the bags. Nora stepped back and let him in. He walked down the short corridor passed the guest bath and into the large living room/kitchen/dining room. The room was full of boxes and looked more like a storage room than a home. In the middle was a large comfy, black sofa facing the corner with windows to the right. Sitting perpendicular to it was a matching love seat. Nora padded over and turned down the speakers she had set up on a kitchen counter.

“All my stuff was delivered this morning before I got here. They even set up my bed. Thank god the magazine had someone here to take care of everything for me,” she said, glancing over at him. “But yea… it’s going to take some time to get it how I like it.” Marcus looked over and saw large flat boxes lined up against the wall. He sat the bags down on the counter and looked at Nora. She leaned against the counter, dressed in thick black leggings with a large heather gray cable knit sweater that came down mid-thigh. She looked comfy in pink fluffy socks, with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Large, thick black frame glasses were balanced on her nose; she had been too lazy to put her contacts back in after the flight.

“Give me the tour?” he asked, smiling.

“You were here when I got the place,” she said, smiling at him. “You know the layout.”

“Yea, but I want to hear how you plan to set it up,” he said with a grin. Nora walked over to him and sighed.

“Well… I think I’m going to put the table there - should be able to get one that seats eight for dinner parties and such,” she said, motioning to the space behind the loveseat. “And I’ll need to get an entertainment system for a TV and the stereo to go there in the corner… I’ve already got art for the walls, but it needs some rugs and maybe lamps.” She then grabbed his arm and pulled him back down the hall. She stepped into a room with several boxes.

“This will be my office/guest room. I need a bookshelf and I’m planning to put a desk right about there. Instead of a bed, though, I’m going to get a sofa that pulls out. Save on space and such,” she said. Marcus nodded. She led him back out and flipped the light off. They walked down the hall to the largest room that had an attached bathroom and walk-in closet.

“And this is my room,” she said, flipping on another light. A large bed sat in the middle, but outside of her luggage, there wasn’t much there. She had managed to make the bed with a fluffy, dark gray comforter and several pillows. “I need to get some night stands and I guess a small TV for the wall, since there’s a hookup. And a dresser… and I think I want a small armchair for that corner but I’ll probably wait and see how all the other furniture fits first,” Nora said, chewing on her nail.

“Well… you certainly have your work cut out for you,” Marcus said, his eyebrows raised. Nora looked up at him and frowned.

“Don’t remind me… So much to get done. I need to get the furniture before I can even think of unpacking and organizing since I have no storage whatsoever,” she moaned. Marcus chuckled as he led her back down to the living room.

“It’s a good thing that I took tomorrow off then,” he said.

“Are you sure it’s okay? I mean, I absolutely love that you’re coming with me, but I don’t want to inconvenience you,” she said, following him. He walked over and started unpacking the food.

“That’s kind of the joy of owning your own business, Nor,” he said, glancing at her. “My assistant and the new lawyer I just hired have it covered for the most part. They know to contact me if something comes up. And it’s just one day.” Nora grinned as she stepped next to him and kissed his cheek.

“What would I do without you?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. Marcus laughed. He looked around, realizing there was no table.

“Where do you want me to put this?” he asked, gazing down at her. Nora looked around the room and then walked over to a large box.

“We can use this as a table for now,” she said, starting to push it towards the sofa and loveseat, but barely moved it. Marcus chuckled and walked over, pushing her aside. It was obvious she was struggling. He easily picked it up and placed it in the space in front of the furniture.

“Again… what would I do without you?” she asked.

“Apparently, nothing,” he responded, joking. After a few minutes, the two of them were situated on the sofa with Chinese takeout spread out on the box. They had just settled into eating with they heard the front door burst open.

“NORA! I’M HO-OME!” Adrian called as he walked in. Both Marcus and Nora turned on the sofa to see him walking in, bags in hand. The tops of bottles were barely visible. Marcus scowled as he saw Oliver Wood following behind him, carrying another bag.

“I’m going to regret giving you a key, aren’t I?” Nora asked, playfully narrowing her eyes at her cousin. He walked over and leaned over, kissing her cheek.

“Too late to take it away,” he said, grinning. “How was your flight?”

“Long,” Nora said as she looked over at Oliver, who stood a bit back. She looked back at her cousin, and nodded towards Oliver, silently asking why he was there.

“Right… ran into Wood while I was out buying drinks and food and brought him along since you didn’t really get a proper introduction,” Adrian said.

“I’d say it was proper enough,” Marcus said, glaring at him.

“Calm down, Flint. He comes in peace,” Adrian said. “And it’s not like he could steal Nora from you if he tried.” Nora started laughing softly as Adrian walked over to the kitchen, looking for cups, glasses or anything that he could use to pour alcohol into. Oliver glanced back at Adrian, seemingly a bit put out as Marcus relaxed slightly, buoyed by the fact that he had, indeed, ended up with the girl this time.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Wood asked, walking over to Adrian.

“Those two are completely smitten with each other,” Adrian said, pointing at the two without looking at them. He was still searching the empty cabinets.

“This is what happens when you come over for a housewarming before the house is ready,” Nora called. Adrian kept looking before Nora huffed and put her food down. She kissed Marcus on the cheek and leapt over the back of the couch, padding towards the kitchen. “Still in boxes, you idiot.” She walked up to him and pushed him aside, grabbing a box cutter that was sitting on the cabinet. She then turned to one of the boxes sitting next to it and bent over it, slicing it open.

Wood’s eyebrows rose as he smiled slightly, admiring the view. Adrian noticed and punched him in the arm. Oliver silently grimaced looking at Adrian, who nodded towards the living room where Marcus was scowling at him, catching the whole exchange.

Wood cleared his throat and stepped over to look out the window at the balcony while Adrian tried not to laugh.

“Aha, here we are,” Nora said, straightening up. She had four glasses in her hands wrapped in bubble wrap. She set them on the counter and started pulling the wrap off, causing Wood and Marcus to jump at the noise. Again, Adrian snickered, catching their reactions.

“Why on earth are you two here, anyway? You didn’t say anything about coming over when we spoke yesterday,” Nora said, looking up at her cousin. He shrugged.

“Your first night here in London. Though we should celebrate,” he said grinning. “New glasses?”

“No, same I’ve always had, you just forgot what they looked like,” she replied.

“Thought at some point you’d grow into them,” he said, studying her face. Nora rolled her eyes as she rinsed out the glasses in the sink and then carried them over to the makeshift table, then sat on the couch next to Marcus and grabbed her food again, digging in. Adrian and Oliver followed her, settling on the loveseat. Oliver reached over and grabbed the bag he had been carrying, pulling out various snacks and such.

“Right, so… I know you’ve all met, but for formality’s sake, Nor, this is my boss and friend Oliver Wood. Wood, my cousin Nora. Her boyfriend Marcus Flint, who you might remember as your biggest adversary in school and my best friend,” Adrian said. Nora couldn’t help but giggle. “Now that that’s out of the way, I’ve got… wine… champagne… whiskey… and if we start feeling particularly rambunctious… tequila.” Nora rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you guys have to work tomorrow?” she asked between bites, glancing from the bottles in Adrian’s hands to the two men.

“Nah, it’s an off day for the team,” Wood answered, moving toward the whiskey. Adrian gave Nora a look, holding up the bottles.

“Wine,” she said.

“You going into the office tomorrow?” Adrian ask Marcus. He shook his head no.

“Took the day off to help Nora with furniture shopping,” he said.

“Aren’t you the dutiful boyfriend,” Adrian said grinning. Nora rolled her eyes, much to the amusement of Wood. “How’s Uncle?”

“Same,” Nora said with a sigh. “Busy with the business. And busy getting after Eliza and I to hurry up and get married.” Marcus choked on a noodle at the mention of marriage. The three others stared at him a moment before Nora and Adrian started laughing hysterically.

“Good one, Nor,” Adrian said.

“It’s always marriage that seems to get them,” she said grinning. Marcus frowned at her but found he couldn’t keep it for long as he started chuckling as well. Nora raised an eyebrow as she turned her gaze to Adrian.

“Say, Adey… I happen to have two guitars…”

“No, no. Fuck no,” Adrian shouted before she could finish.

“It’s now or in front of a crowd at the housewarming. Your choice,” Nora said, focusing on her food.

“Wait… you play an instrument,” Wood said. Marcus just laughed.

“You knew? You told him?!” Adrian shouted. Nora shrugged.

“He saw my guitar the first time we video chatted and asked me to play,” she said. “And I may have mentioned that I taught you…” Adrian rolled his eyes and fell back into the sofa.

“Fine. Bring them out. But we’re doing shots before,” he said. Nora cackled in glee as she jumped over the back of the sofa again. While she had disappeared into the back room, Wood looked at Adrian and Marcus.

“So that’s really the same lass from the club?” he asked softly, not quite understanding the shocking difference between Nora dressed up and Nora in her natural habitat.

“What of it?” Marcus asked. Wood shook his head slightly.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s still lovely, but… really. You and her? She looks like a damn Hufflepuff,” he said. There was surprisingly no judgment. Only bafflement. Marcus found himself laughing.

“I know… surprised me as well,” he said. “Though sometimes I wonder if she would have been Gryffindor with that hold no bars back approach to life she’s got.”

“Nah, she would have been Slytherin. She’s too ambitious for her own good – her mum used to say that about her all the time,” Adrian said. “And it’s a family tradition. Puceys have been Slytherin since the dawn of time.” At that moment, Nora returned with two guitars. She walked over and handed one to Adrian and then hopped over the couch next to Marcus with the other and settled in. Adrian looked at her.

“Shot glasses, Nor?” he said. Nora looked back over at the open box on the other side of the room and then back at Adrian.

“Just do it straight from the bottle. I’m too tired to dig them out,” she said. “And you’re stalling.” Adrian huffed and pulled the tequila bottle out of the bag. He opened it and took a drink, wincing, and then handed it to Nora. She took a drink and put the bottle down. She then got the guitar in position and looked at Adrian.

“What are we playing?” she asked. Adrian positioned the guitar and looked up at the ceiling.

“Barton Hollow?” he said, looking down at her. Nora grinned.

“You mean Barton Holler?” she replied in an over-exaggerated Southern accent.

“Shut up and start it,” he said. Nora laughed for a moment, and then met his eyes, hers twinkling.

“One, two three…” she said while tapping her knuckles on the guitar front.

The two broke out into harmonized crooning before they even started strumming. Both Marcus and Wood were a bit taken aback by the fact that not only was Adrian in tune, but he didn’t seem that bad. It was an upbeat song with a fast rhythm. Both Nora and Adrian grinned at each other as they sang and strummed furiously. Then suddenly it quieted.

“Miles and miles in my bare feet,” Nora sang alone, “still can’t lay me down to sleep. If I die before I wake, I know the Lord my soul… will… take.” Suddenly the two were back to strumming furiously and singing in harmony.

When they finished, Marcus had to blink a few times before he came to completely. He glanced over at Wood and noticed he had the same reaction. Before anyone got a break, Nora was already strumming out another song.

“No, no. I refuse to do that one,” Adrian said, laughing.

“Shut up. You’re doing it,” Nora said, grinning. “So you’re scared to show your feelings…” she started singing. It only took half a verse before Adrian joined in. “Baby I do understand…”

“Let me be the one to love you,” they both sang in harmony. Marcus watched Nora as she grinned at Adrian, who was starting to get into the song a bit, his eyes half-closed. When they finished the song, she laughed and put the guitar aside.

“How come I didn’t know about this?” Wood asked Adrian as he leaned the guitar against the sofa.

“It’s not something I like to bring out when the lads are over,” he said, back to frowning at Nora for outing him.

“Saves it for the ladies,” Nora said, still grinning as she leaned against Marcus. He wrapped his arm around her. Adrian shrugged.

“What can I say? They like a guy who can sing,” he said. Wood studied him.

“Hmm, maybe I should learn…” he mused.

“No offense, Wood, but you don’t need any more help with the ladies,” Adrian said with a laugh. He glanced over at Marcus. “I’d say Flint could use it, but he apparently doesn’t need help.” Marcus chuckled and looked down at Nora, who was peering up at him through her glasses and smiling.

“Apparently not,” Marcus said.

“How is it that Marcus Flint is the only one of a us with a girl? How did this happen?” Wood asked, chuckling.

“I always had a thing for the silent, brooding type,” Nora said with a grin. She looked over at Wood. “Sorry… you never really had a chance.” Wood just laughed in response, conceding defeat.

The four sat and talking and drinking for a couple more hours before Wood and Adrian took their leave. The hours of travel finally hit Nora and she could barely keep her eyes open. She and Marcus got settled in bed shortly after the two left. As she lay sleeping, her arms wrapped around Marcus, he looked down at her and then out the window.

He almost couldn’t believe this was his life now. He sighed and smiled. He couldn’t think of a time when he had been happier. And he didn’t even care what his stuck-up parents or the rest of the pureblood club had to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More song notes! Adrian and Nora sing "Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars and the second is "Let Me Be the One" by Blessid Union of Souls.


	8. Chapter 8

Marcus stood in the flat, champagne flute in hand. He had to admit that in just a week, Nora had the place fixed up nicely. It almost seemed as though she had lived there years. Their journey in furniture shopping hadn’t taken as long as he thought it would. Nora’s disdain for it had apparently worked out in their favor in that she already had a clear idea of what she wanted before they set out and therefore was able to pick out the necessary pieces quickly and arrange their delivery. Once everything had been delivered, she made quick order of unpacking and arranging; everything was put in its place within a few days. She had declared that it wouldn’t feel like home until she had everything set and she couldn’t feel settled until it felt like home.

The flat was open and inviting as music drifted throughout. It was an eclectic mix – Nora told him she put together a long playlist with something for everyone. Some folks stood out in the chilly fall air on the patio smoking while the rest mingled in the living room. Even though she had just moved here, it seemed Nora already knew quite a few people. She mentioned the other night that she had attended university in London and still kept in touch with a lot of her friends as she was often in and out of the city with her work.

Flint waved as he saw Terrence Higgs and his wife standing with Blaise, Bletchley and his wife. The couples looked around, slightly uncomfortable at being surrounded by so many muggles and unable to use magic. Granted, Blaise looked as though he were enjoying the many single women that Nora happened to be friends with. Adrian was in the corner, flirting with some of Nora’s new co-workers. Nora had just walked back from answering the door again and wrapped her arm around Marcus.

“So, this is the boyfriend I’ve been hearing about non-stop,” a woman with short brown hair said, walking up with a smirk on her face.

“Marcus, this is my best friend from university, Laura,” Nora said. Laura stuck her hand out.

“Nice to officially meet you,” she said. Marcus smiled and shook her hand.

“Likewise,” he said. “Heard you two got into a bit of trouble back in the day.” Laura laughed.

“A bit. Mostly her doing,” she said, looking at Nora. Marcus studied her, thinking that Laura looked familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The door chimed again. Nora rolled her eyes and kissed Marcus on the cheek.

“I’ll be right back – hostess duty calls,” she said before walking off.

“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you,” Laura said once Nora was out of earshot. “Even years after you left Hogwarts, your reputation was still legendary in Slytherin. Though my brother talked about you a bit as well. He was a few years behind you.” Marcus’ eyes widened as he choked on his drink.

“You… you’re a witch?” he whispered, looking around. Laura grinned mischievously and nodded.

“Mum is muggle, so I grew up in both worlds. She was the one who insisted I go to muggle university where I met Nor. Made my brother go all the way through graduate school,” she said. Marcus looked over at Nora who was chatting with a couple that had just arrived. Even though she wasn’t magical, she seemed to have somehow attract all sorts of magical beings around her. Marcus glanced around, wondering just how many of her friends were actually witches or wizards.

“Who was your brother?” he asked, glancing back at Laura.

“Richard Levins. Hufflepuff. Think he was a second year when you graduated,” she replied. Marcus thought a moment. The name sounded familiar, though back then he didn’t really pay much mind to anyone outside of his house unless they were on the house quidditch team. Marcus nodded slowly.

“Don’t recall him, but suppose that’s only natural,” he said. “I wasn’t the best sort back then…”

“As I’ve heard. Good to see you’ve turned a new leaf. Though I will say Slytherin was very different after the war – at least in my experience. Doubt I would have made it through unscathed,” she commented. Marcus shifted, slightly uncomfortable.

“So… seems to be a lot of ‘our’ sort here,” he said, looking around. Laura laughed.

“Nora seems to attract us,” she said, looking around. “With or without Adrian’s help. Granted I introduced her to a fair share of my mates from Hogwarts. Only the muggleborn ones, though. The others didn’t seem to leave Diagon Alley much and I very well couldn’t take her there.”

“Does it get easier? Keeping the secret from her?” he asked. Laura shrugged.

“It’s easier for some than others. I primarily live and work in the muggle world, so it’s not hard for me – I’ve gotten used to it for the most part. I still don’t know how Adrian’s managed. He’s a bloody quidditch superstar,” she said disdainfully. “You’ve no idea how many times I had to surreptitiously put a silencing charm on someone whenever he came around or came up in conversation.” Flint chuckled.

“I’ll admit, he’s given me a decent muggle education since Nora’s arrived,” he said. “Never thought I’d figure out that laptop.” Laura laughed.

“It’s not so bad once you get the hang of it,” she said. “I’m sure Nora’s wasted no time in giving you a music education.”

“She hasn’t… We’re going to a concert next weekend,” he said, chuckling. Laura nodded. “I’ve nearly filled my phone with all these songs and artists she’s recommended.”

“It’s definitely not like our world,” she said as Nora walked back up.

“I think most folks are here,” Nora said with a sigh. “Maybe I can finally take a break from answering the door.”

“Where is my cousin!” Adrian shouted, walking up and grinning. “Given any thought to what you’re doing for your birthday this year?”

“Adey, it’s still over a month away,” she said, scoffing.

“Yea, but I know you. You’ve already been thinking about it,” he said. Marcus looked down at Nora, realizing he had never asked her when her birthday was.

“Dec. 7,” Adrian said as though he was reading Marcus’ mind.

“Papa always said no one should ever forget it because it’s Pearl Harbor Day. He was a bit of a WWII buff,” Nora added.

“By the way, I was thinking we could do Christmas here. You have the homier flat,” Adrian said. Nora laughed and shook her head.

“No, it’s because you want me to do all the cooking,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Hold off on Christmas, please. I still have Thanksgiving to think about. And Halloween. Not to mention said birthday. I think my planning plate is full.”

“Doing a fancy dress party for Halloween, are you?” Laura asked. Nora looked at her and grinned.

“Of course,” she said. “Now that I’m back in the country, I need to reinstate my reign as Halloween party queen.”

“Wait, what’s Thanksgiving?” Marcus asked, confused.

“American Thanksgiving. Lots of food, mate. Best holiday there is,” Adrian said. “Outside of Christmas, that is.”

“And like that, I’ve become the resident chef,” she said with a sigh. Laura looked at the two men.

“Looks like you’ll have to make more food this year,” she said. “These two could probably put away half a cow just between them.”

“And that’s why I got Mom’s recipe book. She’s got them all marked up for tons of people,” Nora said. Adrian’s eyes widened.

“You’ll be making Aunt Lillian's recipes?” he asked. Nora nodded. “Have I told you yet how very happy I am you moved over here?” Nora laughed.

“And here I thought it was because you genuinely missed me,” she said.

“Oh, I did. But I also missed your cooking as well,” he answered. He looked at Marcus. “You’ve no idea how lucky you are, mate.”

“I think I have a bit of an idea,” Marcus said. “Once she got all the kitchen stuff in, she started cooking up a storm.”

“But seriously. Birthday party. Got any ideas?” Adrian said, returning to the topic at hand. His ricocheting around events was starting to confuse everyone following the conversation.

“May see if there are any good shows around that time,” Nora said, her nose scrunched in concentration.

“No, that’s fun for you and boring for the rest of us. How about a party here? You seem to have gotten the perfect place for entertaining,” Adrian replied.

“I thought this was my birthday party,” Nora said, smirking at him.

“It is, but you’ve always put together fun parties in the past. I just want more of that,” Adrian whined.

“Well, maybe this year I’d rather have a quiet, romantic night with Marcus,” Nora countered, thoroughly entertained by the sight of her 40-something cousin whining like a small child.

“This is you we’re talking about. You don’t know the definition of quiet night when it comes to your birthday,” her cousin retorted. Marcus laughed as the two continued back and forth, definitely seeming more brother and sister than cousins.

“Would you two shut it?” Laura finally declared with a smile on her face. Both Nora and Adrian turned to look at her. “God, it’s like uni all over again where I had to hear this nearly every day.” Massaging her temples she looked back and forth between the two a moment. “Just have the damn party at a club. Nor, you’re friends with half the VIP coordinators in the city. I’m sure you can get one of them to set you up with a table or a room or something. Then you get music and Adrian gets a fun time.”

“Good idea. Less planning and cleaning for me,” Nora said with a smile.

“I got it! Let me do it!” Adrian said, grinning. Nora and Laura looked at him as though he had grown antlers.

“You know it doesn’t count when you bilk me for my contacts to plan,” Nora said, scoffing. “No. I’m not letting you plan it. For all I know, you’ll book a shit ton of go-go dancers or strippers or something.”

“Come on, let me! I promise no go-go dancers or strippers. And Laura can supervise,” Adrian said, offering the brunette a smile before turning the puppy dog eyes on Nora. Laura rolled her eyes.

“I suppose I could oversee to make sure he doesn’t completely ruin it,” she said with a huff. Nora looked at her friend and then back at Adrian. She sighed and tossed her head back.

“Fine. I relent. You can plan my birthday party,” she said before looking at Adrian. Pucey looked extremely satisfied with himself as he nodded and then walked off to go talk to Blaise.

“I will never understand him,” Laura said. Marcus chuckled.

“He was even more annoying in school,” he said. Nora leaned against him and sighed.

“I seriously hope I didn’t just doom my birthday party…”

“There’s a good chance you may have. Remember the time he tried to plan a house party and ended up calling you the night before after he nearly burned the flat down trying to cook?” Laura asked.

“How could I forget? It was during finals week,” Nora said, huffing.

“He guilt-tripped you into it by saying he was having the damn thing to celebrate finals week,” Laura added with a laugh. Nora looked at her friend.

“Please make sure he doesn’t ruin it,” she begged.

“Your party is safe in my hands,” Laura said with a salute. “Ah, Ira’s here. I should go say hi.” She walked off to the other side of the room as Nora looked around, seeming pleased.

“Did he really nearly burn the flat down?” Marcus asked. “I don’t remember this and I usually was at nearly every party he threw.” Nora shrugged and took a sip from her glass.

“I saved the day but we had to leave the windows open for forever to get rid of the smell of burnt appetizers,” she said. Marcus thought back over the years, quickly doing the math to see why he wouldn’t have met Nora then. He was sure he had been to every gathering. “Didn’t even get to go to the damn thing because I had a test the following morning at 8 a.m.”

“Shame… perhaps we could have met a few years earlier,” Marcus said, realizing that’s why they didn’t meet. Nora looked up at him and smiled.

“Yea, but you would have been married and it wouldn’t have been the same,” she said. “I would have been the annoying younger cousin, not the amazingly cool music writer that I am now.” Marcus smiled down at her.

“I’m sure you would have been amazing regardless,” he said before kissing her.

“Gross. You two are making me gag,” Adrian said as he walked by. Nora stuck her tongue out at him.

“Not really winning in the ‘who’s more mature’ game, Nor,” Marcus said chuckling.

“Marcus, this is me and Adey. We’ll never be mature. Get used to it.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Lois! Could you have this deed owled for me!” Marcus called from his office where he was seated at his desk, pouring over another contract. A woman with bright red hair strode into the office and took the file that he was pointing at that was sitting on the corner of his large desk.

“Leaving early again today, Boss?” she asked, glancing at him. Marcus looked up, confused.

“I told you, Marcus is fine. And no, why?” he asked.

“Just thought you might have… plans,” she said, clearly displaying a knowing smile. “And I’ve been calling you Boss for five years now, you’d think you’d be used to it.” Marcus cleared his throat and tried to appear stern.

“I do have plans, but none that require me to leave early,” he said, returning to the contract.

“Good to see you finally have a life again,” she said offhandedly as she started for the door. Marcus looked up again.

“What on earth are you talking about, Lois?” he asked. She stopped and spun around, still grinning.

“Come on. You’ve been leaving early or right on the dot every day. You hardly ever come in on the weekends anymore. And you’ve actually taken days off. You, Marcus Flint, finally have a social life,” she said. Marcus sputtered slightly.

“That’s none of your business what I do in my free time,” he said. She laughed as she walked over and sat in the chair across from him.

“What’s she like?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“What’s who like?” he asked.

“The woman you’re seeing. Come on, Boss. I know these things. You’re dressing smarter and you actually smile now. It’s about bloody time, if you ask me. Never liked that wife of yours,” she replied.

“That’s highly inappropriate,” Marcus said, having vague flashbacks of Percy Weasley from Hogwarts. He shook his head slightly. “Sorry, I mean…”

“Don’t worry, Boss,” Lois said, standing. “Your secret is safe with me.” Marcus rolled his eyes as she walked out of his office. He knew for a fact that no secret was safe with Lois and after lunch, nearly the entire secretarial staff at the Ministry would no doubt be informed of Marcus Flint’s new, secret relationship.

“You really should just tell her, else she’ll just make up a story,” Roger Davies said as he leaned against the frame of his door. Marcus had brought him on board just a few months before to help with his growing workload. Marcus rolled his eyes and looked back down at the contract before him.

“I’m not telling her a damn thing,” Marcus replied.

“Will you tell me at least? My wife is still waiting on your excuse for why you turned down her invitation to our dinner party which was in fact a not-so-veiled attempt at setting you up with her cousin,” Roger said, smiling. Marcus chuckled as he looked up at him.

“I am seeing someone,” he admitted. Roger’s face lit up as he stepped into the office, shutting the door behind him.

“I see… and who’s the lucky lady?” he asked.

“She’s ah… well… she’s muggle,” Marcus admitted, not wanting to mention her name or relation to Adrian and figuring that was the best way to explain the situation. Roger’s eyebrows flew up.

“Merlin… who would have thought. Marcus Flint. With a muggle. My how the world has changed,” he replied.

“Well… to be honest I wasn’t expecting to fall for her. We were kind of set up by Pucey,” he said. Roger nodded slowly. “But… the past couple of months with her have been the best I’ve had in… possibly in forever.” Roger started grinning.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” he asked. Marcus blanched slightly.

“Merlin, Davies. It’s only been a few months,” he sputtered. Roger just laughed and stood, walking towards the door.

“You’ll feel better once you admit it, mate. You’re in love with her – whoever she is,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out. Marcus sat stunned at his desk for a few moments, pondering over the idea.

Was he in love with Nora?

~~~

Marcus checked his watch as he stepped out of his office building. He had told Nora he’d meet her at her flat by 6:30 for the show and it was already 6 p.m. He wasn’t too worried as he could just apparate to the alley near her building and get there in plenty of time. But he still would be cutting it slightly close.

“Flint. Fancy seeing you,” a familiar voice said. Marcus stopped and looked up, seeing Draco Malfoy walking down the sidewalk just outside his building. He stopped in his tracks and immediately his eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn’t interacted much with the Malfoys since a year before the divorce when he stopped going to all the high society events with Pansy. He always thought the younger man was a bit of a twit, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he had dated Pansy in Hogwarts and everything to do with the fact he had found him incredibly annoying at school.

“Malfoy,” Flint said with a small nod.

“See your little firm is doing well,” Draco said.

“It’s done fair enough,” Marcus replied, wondering how long he would be forced to stand here and make small talk.

“Mother’s asked about you. We haven’t seen you around lately,” Draco said smoothly, even though Marcus knew he was well aware of why he hadn’t been socializing with the purebloods.

“Been a bit busy with work and such. You know how it is,” he said, gripping his briefcase tighter.

“Right. Suppose the fact you had the divorce to deal with hasn’t made it easier,” Draco said, smirking slightly. Marcus started to glare at him before he realized, he didn’t care anymore. He almost laughed out loud at how suddenly it hit him. So instead he just shrugged and smiled.

“Yea, it was a tough break. But it’s been over a year. Gotta move on at some point,” he said lightly.

“Right, heard you’ve been seeing someone,” Draco countered. Marcus frowned slightly, wondering where he had heard that. He then suddenly remembered that his mother still was very much a part of the pureblood circle. She must had mentioned something to Narcissa, who shared it with her son.

“I have,” he replied.

“Why haven’t you brought her around?” Draco said. “Your mother seemed short on details and we’re all quite fascinated by this new woman in your life.”

“We, ah,” Marcus had to think quickly to come up with something believable. He didn’t really care to share the details of his dating life with Draco Malfoy, especially since he wasn’t completely sure what his mother had said. Of course, his slight hesitation was just enough for Draco. He slowly grinned.

“Embarrassed, are we?” he asked. Marcus immediately scowled at him. Draco’s eyes widened as he stepped back slightly, no doubt relieving the old days of Marcus’ fury and fire from Hogwarts.

“Not particularly. She doesn't know about magic, if you must know. Forgive me from wanting to spare her from the likes of you,” he spat. “She’s too good to hobnob with reformed Death Eaters.” Draco’s eyes widened, though just as suddenly, he settled back into his usual smirk.

“Sure it isn’t because you don’t want her to know about your more colorful past? As I remember you used to quite enjoy being pureblood. I remember a few interesting stories from Hogwarts,” he said. Marcus laughed.

“Come off it, Malfoy. We both know that was years ago and I was on the right side the last time around,” he retorted. “Besides, she knows I have a past – even if I have to be short on details - and doesn’t seem to care much about it.” Draco narrowed his eyes at him.

“You’ll be disinherited for this,” he said.

“Don’t really care, Malfoy. As far as I’m concerned, my days as part of that stupid pureblood club are just a bad memory and I’ve been doing well enough on my own,” Marcus spat. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a date.” He then turned and walked off towards the Leaky Cauldron, leaving a flabbergasted Malfoy staring after him.

Marcus smiled to himself, relishing the moment Draco had cowered slightly at him. He didn’t care to return to his old days of being a bully, but sometimes, someone needed to be put in their place. He would enjoy telling Nora. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

That’s right. He couldn’t tell Nora. Because she didn’t know about magic and couldn’t know about Malfoy or the war or anything. He frowned slightly as he continued walking, the secret he kept weighing heavy on him.


	10. Chapter 10

“Nor… do you really need me for this?” Marcus asked a few weeks later as he sat on the sofa in Nora’s office. It was about 2 a.m. and the woman was at her desk, furiously at work at a sewing machine. She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a look that quickly stilled whatever complaint that was about to pass his lips.

“I’m almost done with this and then I need to make sure it fits,” she said, turning back to the whirling machine. Marcus sat back and settled in to watch her. She had insisted on making both their costumes herself. He tried to convince her he could take care of his own - truthfully with magic it would have been faster and easier - but Nora exclaimed that he’d get it wrong and that she had to be the one to do it.

Which is why they were both up at 2 a.m. the night before the party. With all the assignments she had going, she barely had time to finish them. Her dress was currently on a mannequin in the corner of the room. He had to admit, she was good for a muggle. They two were going as vampires and Nora had designed and made two intricately detailed gothic outfits that reminded Marcus oddly of some of clothes the wizarding world wore.

His chest constricted as he thought of the massive secret he was still keeping from her. Life in the muggle world was getting easier for him. He felt himself rather adjusted, all things considering. But it still pained him that every weekday he went to his office on Diagon Alley and nights when he wasn’t staying at Nora’s, he would go home to his flat there. Both places she couldn’t see.

He talked about it often with Adrian, who was still insistent that they not say anything. He had been talking with Nora’s father, but he was still against letting her know. Until Adrian convince him otherwise, they were stuck telling half-truths and white lies. Thankfully Frederick Pucey still hadn’t managed to pick up that the Marcus Nora spoke to him about was Marcus Flint. Adrian said he had convinced him that she was dating a muggle bloke. Marcus could only imagine how well it would go over when he discovered his eldest daughter was dating not just a wizard, but a pureblood. He reckoned it would not go over well.

“Aha! Finished!” Nora declared. She swiveled around in her chair and stood, holding the coat out. “Try it on.” Marcus stood and pulled his sweater off then reached for the coat. Nora tilted her head to the side, enjoying the sight of Marcus’ toned torso under his thin t-shirt. Marcus smirked slightly as he pulled the coat on and looked up at her, holding his hands out as if to say, “What do you think?”

It was a little tight in the shoulders, but other than that it seemed to fit comfortably.

“Perfect,” Nora declared with a smile. She then stretched and yawned. “And with that, we can go to bed.” Marcus chuckled as he pulled it off and threw it on the sofa. He started to pull his sweater back on. “What’s the point in doing that when you know I’m just going to pull it back off in about 2 minutes,” she said as she stepped out of the office.

“I thought you were tired,” Marcus said, following her. Nora turned around and stopped.

“I said we can go to bed. I didn’t say anything about sleeping,” she replied with a smirk as she kissed him.

~~~~

When Nora had declared herself the queen of Halloween parties, she hadn’t been lying. Marcus surveyed the nearly packed apartment, taking in the decor. Despite staying up late the night before, she had gotten up early to start transforming the flat into what Marcus could only describe as some sort of magical, gothic mansion.

Cobwebs hung from everything, with bats and candles suspended from the tall ceiling with fishing wire. Nora had startled him when he walked out that morning and found her perched atop a large ladder and he insisted that she let him do the ceiling for her safety - to which Nora just rolled her eyes and ordered him to work on putting out the candle holders. When he hadn’t done that to her satisfaction, she conceded defeat and let him hang the bats and candles. He chuckled to himself as he worked, wondering just how Nora would react to seeing actual floating candles like the ones at Hogwarts.

Candles in wine bottles were all over the flat - on the dining room table, kitchen cabinets, coffee table and the TV stand - along with various bits and bobbins that added to the dark, haunted mansion feel. 

A bar had been set up at the dining room table, complete with liquor in old fashioned bottles and goblets rather than the usual disposable plastic cups. A cauldron sat in the middle of the long table with smoke seeming to pour out of it thanks to something she called dry ice.

Music pulsed throughout the home as people mingled and chatted. Marcus tugged at his vest and looked around, wondering just where the hostess had gone off to.

“Nora outdid herself this year,” Adrian said walking up to him in. “This is above and beyond what she did during university.”

“Who are you?” Marcus asked, taking in his white curly wig.

“I’m King Louis XV,” he said as though it were obvious. Marcus chuckled and took a sip of his drink, looking around the flat. “What’s she got you dressed up as?”

“Vampires,” he said, grinning and showing off the elongated canines that Nora had temporarily glued to his teeth. She had also spent about 45 minutes applying his makeup. It was a bit strange doing things the muggle way - would have taken him much faster to do everything with magic.

At that moment, there was a break in the crowd and Nora walked towards Marcus and Adrian, a smirk on her face.

“Blimey, Nor,” Adrian said, his eyebrows raised.

Her hair was piled up in a slightly messy updo with strands loose about her face. She wore red contacts that were framed by dark, smoky eyeshadow while her lips were painted in a dark burgundy lipstick that seemed extra vivid against her pale skin.

The dress was all black and very Victorian, corset and bustle included. Her neck was covered in a heavy gothic necklace. Nora shrugged.

“Told you I was out to reinstate my reign,” she said with a grin, showing off her fangs.

“We should scout out some interesting venues for next year, see what you can do with something bigger than this,” Adrian said. Nora laughed and shrugged again.

“We’ll see,” she said.

“How did you come up with the idea for these costumes?” Adrian asked.

“Realized I hadn’t done vampire yet. And I kind of liked the whole gothic vampire vibe,” she said. “Spent some time on Pinterest and boom. Vampire costumes.” Marcus wrapped an arm around Nora and pulled her close to his side.

“Well, you certainly make a striking pair,” Adrian said with a grin. “A bit scary though.”

“Nor! Do you have another bottle of vodka?” Laura asked as she ran up to the couple, dressed as a pixie.

“All the liquor is in the office,” she said, pointing down the hallway. Laura nodded and turned to walk away, her wings flapping behind her.

“Fantastic party, Nor,” a woman dressed as a naughty Alice in Wonderland said as she walked up. “Maybe we should have you plan all the office parties.” Nora laughed.

“Not sure I’ll have time, but I may be willing to impart some of my party wisdom,” she said. “Oh, right. This is my boyfriend Marcus and cousin Adrian. This is my co-worker, Lucy. She does fashion.” The woman held out her hand and shook Marcus’ and then Adrian’s, lingering a bit longer with the single man.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling seductively. Marcus nearly laughed, though covered it with a cough and then took a long drink.

“Pucey, I can’t believe you talked me into this damn party,” Wood growled as he walked up, dressed as a pirate. With a scowl on his face, the overall look was comical with his cheap wig and hat slightly askew.

“Good to see you too, Oliver,” Nora said, giggling. Wood took in her and Marcus’ costumes then Adrian’s and huffed.

“Why is it you lot have better costumes than me? Pucey, where did you even get this ruddy thing,” he retorted, holding up the sash around his waist.

“Hey, mate, if you had decided to come earlier, I would have had more time to find you a better costume. As for them, Nora made ‘em,” Adrian said with a laugh. Wood studied Nora’s dress and Marcus’ waistcoat and breeches a bit more closely.

“Made ‘em, aye? Next year you’ll be makin’ mine too. Adrian,” he glared at the man, “is no longer in charge of costumes.” Nora laughed.

“What makes you think I’m making your costume?” she asked. “I barely had time to finish ours.”

“Wait, you made those?” Lucy asked. Nora nodded.

“I make my costume every year,” she said proudly. “And I suppose now Marcus. Possibly Wood. If he’s nice.” She stared pointedly at the irate man who just rolled his eyes.

“How do you put up with her, mate?” he said, looking at Marcus, who chuckled.

“Life is never boring with Nora around,” he said, looking down at her.

“I can agree with that. The office has been much more lively with her around,” Lucy said with a smile. “By the way, we still on for drinks at that music lounge next Thursday?” Nora nodded, her eyes lighting up.

“I’ve been dying to try it out. May be a feature there. Thinking of pitching a story on hole-in-the-wall music places,” she said. Lucy thought about it and nodded slowly.

“Think that might fly. We haven’t done something like that before,” she said. “If you need a buddy to go with you to others, I’m more than happy to oblige.”

“What’s this? You get to go around and drink at bars for your work?” Wood asked. Nora smiled and winked.

“Gotta love being a journalist,” she said. She then looked over, seeing someone new walk in. “I shall return. Time to play hostess. Play nice.” She looked around the group before walking off.

“Really, you’ve got some woman there,” Wood said, watching Nora walk off.

“Don’t get any ideas, Wood,” Marcus growled. Wood looked back at him as Adrian laughed loudly.

“Calm down, Flint. This isn’t school,” he said.

“You all went to school together?” Lucy asked. All three men looked at her.

“Boarding school,” Adrian said smoothly while smiling. “We were all in the same year. Though these two were the biggest rivals I think our school has ever seen.” Marcus scowled at Adrian.

“Come on, Pucey,” he said.

“Don’t forget I’m your boss now,” Wood warned. Lucy laughed loudly.

“You lot are a riot,” she said before walking away. Adrian cleared his throat and grinned at Marcus and Oliver.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said as he followed her. Wood shook his head slowly as he chuckled.

“And everyone thinks I’m the one chasing birds,” he said.

“You are,” Marcus replied.

“Not always,” Oliver retorted, frowning at Marcus. “Just because you’re a chronic settler doesn’t mean all of us should be.”

“Says the man who’s been married and divorced twice,” Marcus said, laughing softly. Oliver’s frown deepened.

“That is a mistake I’ll not make again,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“What? Marriage or divorce?”

“Either,” Wood said. He looked around the party. “Is that… Katie Bell??” Marcus looked over, seeing a pretty blonde dressed as Cinderella. She turned, allowing Marcus a full look at her face.

“I didn’t know Nora knew her,” he replied, confused. He looked over at Oliver, who had a silly grin on his face. He recognized that look. It was the look he got only when he thought up a really good play. Or saw an attractive woman.

“Excuse me, Flint,” he said, striding across the room. Marcus chuckled, feeling like Wood’s declaration was about to fly out the window.

“What are you laughing about?” Nora said as she walked back up to him.

“Wood. Apparently one of our old schoolmates that he used to have a crush on has arrived,” he said.

“Really? Who?” Nora asked, following his view and seeing Oliver deep in conversation with a pretty blonde that looked not much older than her. Though she knew she must be at least in her late 30s if she had gone to school with Marcus and Oliver. She studied her a moment.

“Katie Bell. You didn’t invite her?” Marcus asked, looking down at her. Nora shook her head no.

“Never seen her before. Maybe Adey did,” she murmured. Marcus looked over, seeing Adrian sneaking glances at the two while grinning and still keeping up with the conversation with Lucy.

“I would suspect you’re right,” Marcus said. “That bugger must enjoy playing matchmaker.”

“Well, I suppose since things worked out so well with us,” she said, grinning as she wrapped and arm around Marcus. He smiled down at her. “Come on. You need to introduce me to this Katie Bell.” Marcus chuckled.

“Not so sure that’s a good idea, Nor,” he said, glancing over at the couple. She grinned up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye as she started leading him across the room.

“Come on… time for a little payback…”

~~~

The next day, the two were sitting on the sofa in Nora’s living room. A movie was going, but Nora was on her laptop scrolling through something she called Twitter. Marcus didn’t understand the concept of it, which Nora laughed at and then called him ‘old man.’

She had massive headphones on with her legs stretched out towards one end of the sofa, while she leaned against Marcus. Suddenly, she sat up and grinned, looking over at him.

“What?” he asked, as she pulled the headphones off and unplugged them.

“Found a song I like,” she said, placing the laptop on the coffee table and grabbing the remote, muting the TV. She then leaned over and pressed something on the computer and a video began playing. Marcus leaned up to watch it but she pushed him back into the sofa and leaned her head on his shoulder. “No, just listen.”

It was a soft, slow song. A love song. She smiled as she sighed and closed her eyes, pulling his arm around her. She swayed slightly with the music. As much as he wanted to ask her about it, he stopped himself, instead enjoying the sight of her enjoying the song. He had to admit, while some of her preferred music was beyond him and just noise, he liked this one. After a minute or so of the song had played, he ventured a question.

“Got a thing for love songs, have you?” he asked. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“Marcus James Flint, if you haven’t learned by now, I am a total romantic at heart,” she said grinning. He raised an eyebrow.

“That so?” he asked. He then stood abruptly, pulling her up with him.

“What are you doing?” she shouted while laughing.

“Being romantic,” he replied as he continued pulling her to the space behind the sofa. He then pulled her close, holding one of her hands out while he wrapped the other around her waist and began moving slowly with the song. Nora tossed her head back and laughed.

“We should do this more often,” she said, looking up at him.

“As you wish,” he replied with a cheeky grin, causing her to giggle.

“See you’ve been paying attention to my favorite movies,” she replied.

“Kind of hard to ignore when you make us watch them every other day,” he said.

“Admit it, you like that one,” she said as they made a slow circle.

“It’s not bad. But I like the other one better – the one with the kids after treasure,” he said.

“At least I’ve instilled a love of the classics in you. Still can’t believe you haven’t seen ‘The Goonies.’ God, everyone around our age knows that one,” she said. Marcus just shrugged.

“My parents weren’t big on movies while I was growing up. They rather I read classics,” he said, hoping that would suffice.

“You were robbed,” she replied as she laid her head against his chest. “So… you think Oliver’s going to ask out that Katie person?” Marcus laughed.

“If last night was anything to go by, I suspect he will soon,” he said.

“Good. I like her,” she said. They were quiet a few moments before Nora spoke again. “I like this. Dancing in my living room.”

“I do too,” he murmured as he looked down at her. In that moment, he forgot about everything. The secrets. His family. Their differences. All that mattered in that moment was just being there, with her. Just a few months ago, he had been trying to talk himself out of this. A relationship with a woman so vastly different from himself – what’s more, who didn’t know about his world. But in that moment, he knew that passing up on the chance would have been the biggest mistake of his life.

Adrian had to be cackling somewhere right about now. He never let Marcus live it down. Marcus chuckled to himself. He wouldn’t mind admitting that Adrian had been right. Not in a million years. Not if it meant he had more nights like this – dancing to a love song in his pajamas with the woman he loved in his arms.

Marcus’ eyes widened as the realization hit him. The amount of time didn’t matter. Nor did the fact that there was still so much he couldn’t tell her yet. He, Marcus Flint, was in love with Nora Pucey.


	11. Chapter 11

Marcus sat at the table in the fanciest restaurant in the Alley, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t particularly enjoy the few outings he had with his mother and truth be told, he’d much rather be out with Nora that evening. Even if she was at hip-hop show - something Marcus just couldn’t get into no matter how hard Nora tried. They just spoke too quickly for him to catch everything and he just couldn’t see the artistry that Nora went on and on about.

_“Seriously! It’s all about the wordplay and the rhymes within rhymes. You’re just not listening closely enough,”_ she had scoffed at him.

But instead, he was sitting at the restaurant waiting on his mother for their monthly dinner. Even though she owled him nearly every other week or so, she insisted on meeting up regularly.

“So sorry I’m late,” a tall dignified woman said as she gracefully sat across from him. Even if she was late, Eugenia Flint never seemed in a rush. She was never out of breath or had a hair out of place. “I still don’t understand why you won’t just come over for dinner and instead make me come all the way here,” she said, looking around in slight disdain, as if eating out were beneath her.

Marcus studied her a moment. His mother was very much from the old class of pureblood - the ones who ran the wizarding world back in the day. She was dressed in expensive robes and refused to even consider modernizing her wardrobe into the latest fashions that borrowed heavily from muggle fashion. Instead, she had her robes and dresses expertly made for her in the old style. Much like her fashion since, her views on the world hadn’t modernized as well.

So she was most likely not going to like what Marcus was going to tell her tonight.

“You know it’s better this way. Father still won’t speak to me,” Marcus said with a sigh. “Makes things less awkward.” His mother fixed him in a calculated stare.

“Well, whose fault is that?” she replied.

“I couldn’t look away any longer, Mother. She didn’t cheat on me just once and I was unhappy,” he said, matching her stare. She finally sighed and picked up a menu.

“Honestly, Marcus. It wasn’t that big a deal,” she said, not meeting his eyes. He rolled his and picked up his own menu, not particularly wanting to get into the same argument with her again.

“How is he?” he asked.

“Well,” she replied, not offering more than that. “How are things with the Pucey girl?” Marcus looked up at her.

“Her name is Nora,” he replied. She met his eyes and huffed slightly.

“Fine. How are things with Nora?” she said, looking back down at the menu. Before he could answer, a waiter showed up. Eugenia quickly ordered a bottle of elf wine and her own entre before looking expectantly at Marcus.

“The steak, please,” he said. The waiter nodded and left. The bottle of wine and two glasses appeared and Marcus poured for both of them before answering her question.

“They are going well, if you must know,” he said. Eugenia took a sip of her wine, mulling over his answer.

“So you plan to continue this dalliance?” she asked coolly. Marcus huffed slightly.

“Christ, it’s not a dalliance, mother,” he said, picking up one of Nora’s favorite curses. Eugenia’s eyebrows shot up.

“Not a dalliance? So you intend for this to go somewhere?” she asked.

“I do,” Marcus said, not breaking eye contact.

“Even though she’s… not pureblood?” she said. Marcus took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“Mother, that doesn’t matter to me. In fact… she’s not even magical,” he said. “And I’m in love with her regardless.”

Eugenia sat up in her chair – if it were possible for her to sit up even straighter – and stared at her son a few moments, her lips pursed together.

“What do you mean, not magical? Her father is Frederick Pucey,” she said softly.

“She’s wizardborn,” he replied, not wanting to call Nora a squib. “And she doesn’t know about the wizarding world.” Eugenia blinked slightly.

“She’s… a squib?” she asked quietly as though she didn’t want anyone to overhear. Marcus nodded.

“I prefer wizardborn, but yes,” he said.

“And you think you’re in love with her?”

“I know I am,” he said. Eugenia studied him a bit longer before sighing.

“Oh, my dear son. You can’t possibly be in love with her. It’s only been a few months. Surely it’s just the novelty of it. I admit, there was a time in school when I entertained thoughts about a muggleborn, but really, Marcus. She could never fit into our world. Not a squib,” she said nonchalantly. Marcus fought the urge to roll his eyes. Even though he was 43, his mother wouldn’t cease to patronize him.

“I don’t really care if she fits into your world, Mother. And don’t give me that look - we both know I’ve long avoided pureblood circles. In fact, I’m not entirely sure I ever want to introduce her to it. We - me and Nora - fit together. And I’ve found I’ve been rather happy in her world, which happens to be muggle,” he replied. Eugenia was shocked into silence for a few moments.

“You don’t mean that. You are a pureblood wizard, Marcus,” she said as though it were the most rational thing in the world. “There are traditions to uphold lest you besmirch the Flint name any more than you already have.”

“Mother, the world has changed. It’s been changed for years,” he said. “Being pureblood doesn’t mean shit today.” Eugenia looked scandalized.

“Don’t say such things, Marcus,” she scolded.

“What? That being pureblood doesn’t mean shit or that I’m in love with a squib?” he whispered furiously.

“Either,” she shot back. “You know your father will disown you for this.” Marcus laughed loudly.

“Tell him to. I would welcome it because then I’d finally be free of this… ridiculous old world standard that you two continue to try and live by,” he said. “It’s not the sort of life I want.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“Oh, but I do. I don’t need the lands or any of it. I’ve long taken care of myself, Mother. And I’ve learned that love – real love – and relationships based off that are far more important that upholding traditions and blood purity,” he spat.

The two of them sat and silently stared at each other. Eugenia took a sip of her wine, keeping up her cold exterior. As far back as he could remember, Marcus couldn’t think of her ever being warm or loving.

“Are you certain this is the path you want to choose?” she finally asked, her dark eyes flinting up to his. Marcus nodded.

“It is.”

“Very well then. I shall have to discuss this with your father. He won’t be happy,” she said. Marcus couldn’t help but laugh haggardly.

“Mother, he hasn’t been happy with me for quite a long time. I could care less what he thinks,” he said. She stiffened, but for a moment there was a flicker of something in her eyes. They softened just a bit. But just as soon as it was there, it was gone.

“Very well. You know what he’s likely to do,” she finally said. Marcus looked away for a moment, his exasperation catching up to him. But then it was quickly replaced by resolve. He looked at his mother.

“If he wants to disown me, that’s fine,” he said calmly. He placed his napkin on the table and stood. “Good-bye, Mother.”

“Where are you going? We’re not finished,” she started to call after him.

“Somewhere else,” he said without looking back as he walked out of the restaurant.

Once outside, he was full of adrenaline. He wanted to rush to Nora’s and tell her everything. That he had gladly given up his pureblood title and such for her. He was pulling out his wand to apparate before he stopped, realizing that he couldn’t. She was at a concert. Besides that, he wasn’t sure how to explain that he had just willingly been disowned from his family leaving out the whole pureblood bit. Instead he went to the only other place he could think of, hoping that Adrian was alone at his place.

~~~

“Flint? What brings you here this fine evening? Figured you’d be at dinner with your mum a bit longer,” Adrian said after he answered the door. Marcus pushed passed him and walked into the flat, making straight for the liquor cabinet and pouring himself a generous portion of firewhisky. Only after he had down half of it did he look around and see a confused Warrington and Higgs sitting on the sofas, their own whiskeys in hand. “That bad, huh?” Adrian said, walking up to him.

Marcus laughed haggardly.

“Guess I’m officially part of the disowned club - or at least I will be soon,” he said before downing the other half of the glass and turned to refill it. Adrian’s eyebrows shot up.

“Wow. Really?” he asked. Marcus nodded as he walked over and flopped down on the sofa.

“That’s rough, mate,” Higgs said.

“That’s not even the part that upsets me,” Marcus said. “I had been expecting it by now – and I’d gladly take Nora over whatever titles or money my family has. It’s the fact that I can’t tell Nora any of this.”

The three other men were silent as they looked at each other.

“This was because of Nora?” Warrington asked. Marcus nodded, staring at his glass.

“I told Mum that she wasn’t magical and that I’m in love with her,” he replied. “Though I suppose it was just the icing cake for my parents after the divorce and turning my back on pureblood society.”

“You’re in love with her?” Adrian asked, his usually silly grin starting to appear.

“Suspect you’ve known a while now,” Marcus said glancing up at him.

“This is brilliant, Flint!” Adrian shouted. “Have you told her?”

“Not yet… just figured it out recently myself,” Marcus replied.

“Well… you need to go tell her! Now!” Adrian said. Marcus stared at him.

“Not yet,” he said. “Besides, you’re forgetting that there is a whole large chunk of my life that I can’t tell her about.”

“Minor details,” Adrian said with a wave of his hand.

“I doubt the fact that he’s a wizard and magic exists are just minor details,” Higgs said. “Rather big, actually.”

“And I’m forbidden from saying anything,” Marcus said, fixing a scowl on Adrian.

“I’m sure I’m close to getting uncle to come around,” Adrian said. Marcus rolled his eyes.

“You’ve been saying that for awhile now,” he said. “Beginning to think I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.” Adrian shot off the sofa.

“You can’t. You promised, Flint,” he said, his eyes narrowing, suddenly .

“I did, but this is getting ridiculous, Adrian! She’s a grown woman! She deserves to know!” Marcus shouted.

“But it’s not your place to tell her. That should be her father,” Adrian fired back.

“Well if he won’t do it, then I will!” Marcus shouted, getting to his feet as well.

“Look, I get it. It’s hard. And you’ve had a bit of an emotional night. But this doesn’t mean you should go running off and telling her everything. Think about Nora,” Adrian said.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only who is actually thinking of her!” Marcus said.

“You can’t say anything!” Adrian shouted back.

“Just watch me!” Marcus yelled before starting for the door. Adrian reached out and grabbed his arm, whipping him back around.

“Don’t even think about it!” he said. Marcus’ hand clenched into a fist before he realized.

“And why not? Someone needs to stand up and do it. Might as well be me because you’re too much of a coward!” he shouted at Adrian. Before anything more could be said, Adrian swung and punched him in the face. Marcus staggered back a few steps, staring in shock at his best friend. His face was stinging and he knew a bruise was sure to come. Adrian stood there, seemingly just as in shock over what he did. Just as Marcus started to lunge for him. Warrington and Higgs were on their feet, pulling the two apart.

“Stop this madness! You two have been best friends for decades!” Warrington shouted.

“He bloody called me a coward!” Adrian shouted.

“Because you are!” Marcus shouted back.

“ENOUGH!” Higgs bellowed. The two men stopped and glared at each other. “Flint, maybe you should go sleep it off. Don’t do anything tonight.” Marcus continued to glare at Adrian before shoving Warrington off him.

“Fine. But you know I’m right,” he said before turning and walking out.

~~~

Marcus owled his office the next morning, saying he would be working from home. Part of it was so he wouldn’t have to explain his black eye that was now slightly green thanks to some bruise cream. The other half was because he was still in a bit of turmoil from the night before.

He sat at the desk in his flat and stared at the contracts in front of him, unable to really focus on his work. He huffed slightly and stood, walking to the kitchen to brew some tea in the hopes it would help him calm down enough to focus. He hadn’t felt this angry and unfocused since his Hogwarts days. Even finding out Pansy had cheated on him didn’t bring out his violent side as easily as the happenings of the night before.

Just as he had put the kettle on, there was a knock on his door. He stopped and walked over, answering it. Standing there was a rather forlorn-looking Adrian. Marcus just stared at him a moment.

“Look, could I just come in and apologize or would you rather I do it here?” Adrian said. Marcus stepped aside and let him in. After shutting the door he turned to face Adrian who was now pacing in the living room.

“Out with it,” Marcus said, watching him.

“I’m sorry I punched you and yelled at you. You’re right, she does have a right to know,” he said.

“Merlin, he finally sees the light,” Marcus muttered. Adrian stopped and looked at him.

“But I still think it should be left up to Uncle,” he said. Marcus rolled his eyes. “I know, but it’s his decision. He’s her father.”

“And you’re really going to play that card, Pucey? After everything both you and I have been through with our fathers,” Marcus said.

“Nora’s father is different. He’s not like our fathers. He would do anything for her. Anything. And he thinks this is the best thing. Now, I don’t agree, but ultimately he should be the one to tell her,” Adrian said. “I’m doing what I can to convince him, but you just need to trust me on this and wait before you run off and spill the whole bloody secret.” Marcus sighed.

“Fine,” he said, relenting for now. Adrian nodded as his whole persona changed now that that was sorted.

“So… you’re really in love with her?” he asked, starting to grin.

“Do you honestly think I would say I was if I didn’t mean it?” Marcus asked.

“Just imagine how romantic it’ll be when you finally tell her the whole story. You gladly getting disowned to be with her. She’ll love it,” Adrian said. “It’s like the plot from one of those campy romance novels she reads.”

“I don’t think she’ll be particularly gleeful about it, Pucey,” Marcus said, still frowning. “Especially if it comes along with the whole, 'by the way your father’s been lying to you your life' conversation.”

“Right, but… it’s the thought that counts,” Adrian countered. “When are you going to tell her – that you love her, that is.” Marcus shrugged.

“When the time is right,” he answered.

“Vague, but I’ll work with it,” Adrian said, walking towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Marcus asked.

“Back to work,” Adrian said, his hand on the door knob. “Speaking of which, why are you at home?” Marcus just stared at him. “Ah, right. Black eye. Sorry about that again. Anyway, must be off! Cheers!” With that, he disappeared through the door.

Marcus shook his head slowly. Adrian really was impossible.


	12. Chapter 12

Marcus sighed when he woke up in Nora’s bed alone a few weeks later. He glanced over at the clock on her nightstand, noting that it was impossibly early to be awake for a Saturday. He tossed the comforter off and padded down the hallway to the kitchen where Nora was standing in her pajamas loading a giant turkey into the oven, her hair falling out of a messy bun on top of her head.

He had been staying there a lot, and it was starting to feel more like home than his place – Nora had even made space for his things in the closet and her dresser. He kept a spare supply of toiletries in the bathroom as well - though Nora commented that she never saw him shave and yet he was always clean shaven. It took a few hours and several knicks before he finally got the hang of a muggle razor, needless to say.

And, it was nothing short of a miracle that she didn’t ask more often why they never stayed at his. The one time she brought it up he had quickly invented a relative that was staying with him for a few months while their flat was being renovated. He hoped that by the time she would likely ask again, they would have convinced her father to come clean with her. Nora accepted the excuse with a laugh. Pucey told him later that she had asked about said relative and he had responded it was likely to be an indefinite situation as the flat had been completely gutted, buying them more time.

Granted, about three to four nights a week she would be out at shows or networking. At first Marcus would stay at his place those nights, though gradually he found himself at Nora’s even when she wasn’t there - he started finding his own place too lonely and at least when he was at hers he wasn’t bombarded with thoughts of his family issues and could play catch up on all the films and TV shows that Nora was constantly referencing. Adrian and Wood had popped over one night while he had been binging some show called “How I Met Your Mother” and ended up joining him for several episodes.

Then he’d go to sleep and wake up slightly whenever she would crawl into bed around 1 or 2 a.m. and snuggle up to him, usually smelling of smoke and cheap alcohol. While this could be a turn off for some, to Marcus, it seemed oddly comforting. He found he slept better with her cuddled up to his side.

Adrian was right, though. Once Nora had gotten into the swing of work, she was too distracted to notice the little things that he said or did that would seem off to most muggles. But standing there now in the kitchen, watching as she carefully slid the large bird into the oven, he couldn’t help but feel that he belonged here. With her. He started to think about being disowned or his family less and less.

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” she said after she had got the turkey situated and closed the oven. Marcus laughed softly.

“It’s fine. How’s the cooking?” he asked. “Need any help?” Nora shook her head.

“That’s all I need to get done for now. I was thinking of going back to bed for a little bit before I need to start on the rest,” she said, glancing over at him. Marcus grinned, walked over and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Nora squealed.

“Marcus! What are you doing?” she asked as he started walking back to her bedroom.

“Taking you back to bed,” he said with a grin. He walked into the room and put her down on the bed. She looked up at him, her face now a bit more mischievous. “Though, I don’t think we’ll do much sleeping.” Nora laughed as he leaned down and kissed her.

“I think I’m okay with that.”

~~~~

A few hours later, they had managed to get up and Nora got ready first. She was in the kitchen cooking when Marcus came out dressed. He had never celebrated American Thanksgiving before but Nora had explained the gist of it. She said that her family mostly celebrated as a way to give thanks for all the good that had happened throughout the year rather than for the historical or religious reasons. Her family had never been religious. Mostly they used Thanksgiving as an excuse to eat a lot of food and invite all their extended family and friends over.

And Adrian wasn’t lying about the food. Nora had taken Friday off from work and spent the whole day cooking as well as that morning. It was nearing 2 p.m. when people would start arriving at the flat and she had been cooking since about 9 a.m. after putting the turkey in. An array of appetizers were already out on a small table set up next to the drink table.

Music was playing and there was a stack of plates and other cutlery on the dining table.

“Mind setting the table? Won’t need it until dinner but figured might as well get it out of the way,” she said, looking over from the stove. Marcus nodded and walked over, putting everything out. “Figured I’d put up the Christmas decorations tomorrow,” she said.

“Already?” Marcus asked, glancing over at her. Though he knew for a fact that she had several boxes in the office of newly purchased decorations just waiting to go up. Nora turned from the stove, smiling.

“Yea, it’s tradition to put them up the day after Thanksgiving in my family,” she said. Marcus nodded.

“Sounds good then. I’ll help,” he said, immediately buoyed by the idea. He had never really gotten into holidays before – they were largely formal occasions with the Flints and purebloods often filled with galas and large fancy dinner parties in which he was forced to wear uncomfortable dress robes and make superficial small talk. So, something told him he’d end up enjoying the loud, casual family-style holidays with Nora and Adrian much more.

Once the table was set, Marcus walked over to a different table set up for drinks behind the sofa and poured two glasses of wine, then walked over and handed one to Nora.

“You sure I don’t need to help with any of that. I can be a good cook,” he said. Nora smiled.

“Think I got it. From here out, it’s mostly just warming up all the casseroles I made yesterday once the turkey is done. Stuffing should be done soon as well,” she said, taking a drink.

“I don’t know how you do it. Mother usually had an entire staff to do all the cooking for our holidays but this seemed it would be nearly impossible for one person,” he said offhandedly. Nora laughed.

“Then you’re doing half the cooking for Christmas dinner,” she said, a twinkle in her eye. “Unless you plan to spend it with your family?” Marcus shook his head.

“I haven’t been much welcomed at home since the divorce. Besides, it’s not so much a family holiday but rather a formal networking event for the rich,” he said, grimacing slightly. Nora nodded and stepped up to him, smiling.

“Then I guess it’s a good ol’ family Christmas with me and Adey this year,” she said. He kissed her.

“I like the sounds of that,” he said. At that moment the door opened and Adrian walked in with Wood.

“Hope we’re not interrupting!” he shouted with a devilish grin. Nora and Marcus turned to face the two guests.

“Nope. Just finishing up the cooking,” Nora said with a smile. She walked over and hugged her cousin, kissing his cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving, cuz.”

“Happy Thanksgiving.” She then walked over and hugged Wood, who was already starting to become a regular guest at the flat with Adrian.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Wood. Take it we should expect you for Christmas as well?” she said with a laugh.

“My parents are traveling so I guess so. And, ehm, as long as you don’t mind that I bring a guest,” he said. Nora raised her eyebrows.

“A date, huh? Please tell me it’s Katie,” she asked jumping up and down, her wine sloshing around in the glass but surprisingly not spilling. Wood laughed.

“Actually, I was talking about my daughter. It’s my turn to have her for the holidays this year. I haven’t spoken to Katie about Christmas yet since her kids’ll be back from school too, but she said she’d be here around 3 today,” he said.

“That’s fine, and I didn’t know you had a daughter,” Nora replied, walking back to Marcus.

“Yea, she’s 16. I have her for the holiday break since the team is off and her mother is going to the Caribbean with her new husband for a second honeymoon,” he said, seeming as though he didn’t particularly understand the reasoning behind a second honeymoon.

“Well, the more the merrier,” Nora said, smiling, though her eyebrows were raised. “And Marcus has agreed to do half the cooking.”

“You cook?” Wood asked skeptically.

“I have been living on my own the last year - well, suppose longer when you take the separation into account,” Flint replied. “Had to learn or go hungry.”

“Who else is coming today, Nor?” Adrian asked, taking in the table and looking over the number of settings.

“Besides Katie? Laura and Blaise. Unless you have a date coming that we don’t know about,” she said.

“Think you made enough?” he joked as he looked at the vast number of covered dishes on the counters and stove, ignoring the comment about a date.

“Barely. You three alone eat more food than I thought humanly possible,” she retorted. “I may have to double recipes for Christmas if there are going to be more people.”

“Wood and I are former professional athletes,” Adrian said, puffing his chest out. Nora snorted as she turned to check on the food.

“How could I forget, you only remind me every chance you can,” she said.

“Talk to Uncle Fred?” Adrian asked.

“Yea, on Thursday. He and Eliza Skyped me while everyone was at the house for dinner,” Nora said. Adrian glanced at Marcus as if to ask if he was present for said Skype session. The man shook his head slightly. He made a point of not being there for it, still worried about her father finding out who he was.

“When are Blaise and Laura coming?” Adrian said walking over to the table to make up drinks for him and Wood.

“Told everyone dinner would be ready around 4 or 5 p.m. so I suspect in the next hour or so,” she said, tasting something on the stove. Adrian grinned at his boss and friend.

“Just you wait, Wood. American Thanksgiving will blow your mind.”

~~~~

A couple hours later, Marcus was helping Nora move all the dishes to the table. Everyone had arrived and was sitting around the table chatting. Only Nora and Adrian were familiar with the holiday.

Though, everyone ooed and awed when Marcus brought the turkey over and started carving it. Once they were all settled at the table and filling their plates, Nora took a moment to sit back in her chair and look around, a small smile on her face. Marcus looked over at her and took her hand on the table.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Nor,” he said.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” she said back.

“Oh my god, Nora. This is delicious,” Katie exclaimed after a few bites.

“Thanks,” Nora replied.

“It’s her mother’s recipes. Aunt Lillian always was the best cook,” Adrian said. Nora glanced between Oliver and Katie, noting that they made good couple. She and Marcus had got the story out of Wood shortly after the Halloween party as he started randomly bringing Katie with him to hang out with the group - which had quickly become a weekly occurrence whether they went out or had a game night at Nora’s. He and Katie had never dated at school, though he admitted he had had a bit of a crush on her after they had both graduated. The two then went their separate ways. She married in 2000 and had two kids before her husband tragically died three years ago.

Oliver and Katie managed to not cross paths again until the Halloween party. Adrian had run into her the week before, remembering Oliver’s school crush, and invited her. She had come with another old schoolmate, Alicia, though Nora hadn’t had the chance to meet her at the party.

The two seemed to be hitting it off in the month since then. Oliver’s daughter and Katie’s oldest son were in the same grade at school while her other son was two years younger. Nora wondered if Oliver would want to invite the whole family to Christmas or if it would be too soon for the families to spend a holiday together. She glanced over at Marcus, silently glad he didn’t have kids. Not that she didn’t like them, just that it made things a bit more complicated in terms of dating a divorcee.

“So Katie, will you be joining us at Christmas?” Adrian asked, grinning. Nora shot him a look and punched his arm as Katie and Oliver both choked on their drinks. Marcus watched, amused while Blaise and Laura hid their snickers.

“Usually we go to my parents’ house on Christmas Eve,” Katie said after recovering. “They live out in the countryside and it’s good for the boys. But um… we could maybe come by for dinner on Christmas Day, if you don’t mind. We usually head back to the city about then anyway.”

“I still can’t believe you have teenagers,” Nora commented, taking a sip of her wine. “You don’t look nearly old enough.”

“Says the woman who looks like she’s no older than 25,” Laura quipped from her end of the table.

“Marcus must like that when you two go out,” Blaise said, grinning. Marcus’ cheeks turned pink at he glanced down at his girlfriend, who was grinning.

“Won’t lie, it’s not bad,” he said.

“Come on. You don’t look like you’re even close to 43,” Nora said, rolling her eyes.

“Wait, how old are you exactly Nora?” Katie asked.

“I’ll be 33 next week,” Nora said. Katie’s eyebrows shot up as she glanced between Marcus and Nora.

“You definitely don’t look that old,” she said. “I had actually assumed you were around 25.” Nora chuckled.

“Got some good genes from my mom,” she said.

“Dare say some of that came from the Puceys too,” Adrian said. “I still look good for 42.” Nora rolled her eyes.

“Sure… suppose that could be it too,” she said, her mouth twitching as she tried not to smile.

“Speaking of which, I’m sure you will be rather happy with your birthday party. The plans are all going well,” Adrian said with a grin. Nora looked down the table to Laura.

“I must admit he is doing well,” she reluctantly admitted.

“What do you have planned?” Katie asked.

“I cannot say - it’s a surprise. But you all are all invited. I’ll be sending you the dress code later,” he said, grinning. “Except Nora. She has to wait until the day of.”

The conversation and wine flowed until late in the night as they all worked through the food and then dessert. After everyone left, Marcus and Nora did the dishes and then settled on the sofa with a movie playing and mugs of tea. He had to admit that even when he was in the safety of his own home, he was starting to do the dishes the muggle way. It made him chuckle to think of his mother’s reaction to her only son standing at a sink up to his elbows in soapy water.

“Ugh, I’m too full,” Nora moaned from next to him. Marcus chuckled as he looked down at her. “I shouldn’t have had that second piece of pie.”

“But it was rather good,” he said. Nora sighed.

“I’m going to have to run tomorrow,” she said, taking a sip of tea. “If I can get out of bed.”

“Thought you were doing decorating tomorrow?”

“Oh, I am, just might have to run before I start,” she said, sitting up and putting her tea down on the table. She then snuggled up to Marcus’ side, curling her legs underneath her. “You think Katie and her kids will actually come to Christmas?” Marcus chuckled.

“Are you sure you want three teenagers in the flat?” he asked, glancing down at her. Nora shrugged.

“What’s a few more?” she asked. “We can make room. It was originally just going to be me, you, Adey, Oliver and his daughter anyway. His kid might like having a few others her own age in the house.”

“Wood says she’s really into music, so she just might be glued to you the entire time,” he commented.

“As long as she doesn’t want to talk about football,” Nora said, sighing. Marcus chuckled.

“Just why is it you hate football so much?” he asked.

“Not so much that I hate it, I just don’t understand why everyone around me is sooo in love with it,” she said. He leaned over and kissed her head and then began stroking her hair.

“Dare say some probably say the same thing about you and your music,” Marcus said, glancing down at her.

“Nu-uh,” she replied. “Music is magical. Soccer is boring.” Marcus chuckled as he shook his head. It was a very Nora thing to say. “By the way, got tickets to that Gorillaz concert. You still in?”

“Of course,” he said. “I enjoyed the albums you had me listen to.”

“Wait until you see them live,” Nora said grinning up at him.

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he said before kissing her.


	13. Chapter 13

“Come on, Nor. It’s not going to bite you,” Marcus said, holding the garment bag up. It was a few hours before they were supposed to leave for the super-secret location of Nora’s birthday party and she was currently scowling at the bag, with her arms crossed in front of her.

Somehow, Adrian had managed to keep the theme a secret from her – despite Nora’s best attempts at snooping around. Something that irked her beyond belief as she prided herself on her investigative abilities. Adrian and everyone involved refused to tell her what it was. Her cousin went as far as insisting that he would pick out a dress and accessories for her. Well, more Laura had picked out the dress while Marcus took care of the accessories as his gift to Nora. Adrian had mostly just contributed a running commentary as Laura sifted through racks at various shops.

“I don’t trust Adrian’s taste,” she said. “Knowing him, my ass will be half out.” Marcus chuckled.

“You do know that Laura was supervising? I’m fairly sure that she is the one who actually did the picking,” he replied. She looked up at him.

“Did you see it?” she asked. Marcus nodded.

“Trust me, it’ll look good on you,” he said. Nora sighed and grabbed the bag from his hands and walked back to her bedroom, Marcus following with a grin. She laid it down on the bed and then slowly unzipped it and pulled it open. She gasped softly as she stepped back.

“Oh my god. It’s gorgeous!” she squealed as she jumped up and down. Grinning, she looked over at Marcus. “I’ve always wanted to do a Gatsby-themed birthday!”

The dress was long with a drop waist, and ivory with heavy, intricate silver beadwork and embroidery on the bodice. The skirt was flowy with an uneven hemline and more silver embroidery. Pulling it out of the bag, Nora notice that it had a plunging back while the neckline hit around her collarbone.

She gently laid it back on the bed and then launched into Marcus’ arms, still squealing in glee.

“Laura found it at a shop somewhere. Said it was vintage,” Marcus said, chuckling.

“I have perfect shoes for this! But dammit, I don’t have the right jewelry,” she said, glancing back over at the dress, frowning slightly.

“I’ve got that covered,” he replied, stepping over to a bag and pulling out two boxes. He handed them to Nora. “Happy birthday, Nor.” Her eyes widened as she grabbed them and sat on the bed, ripping the paper off the first box. She then opened it, her eyes going wide as she saw inside a silver and diamond-encrusted headband with what looked like silver feathers on one side connected to a large broach. She looked up at him.

“This is… oh my god, Marcus,” she said softly. He shrugged as she looked back down at it.

“After Laura got the dress I went to an old jeweler I know and managed to find some authentic 20s jewelry to match it,” he said, blushing slightly. He conveniently left out that the jeweler was famous on Diagon Alley, though he made sure all the pieces he had picked out were void of any charm work. Nora gently placed the box down next to her and quickly opened the second, her eyes going even wider. Inside were a pair of delicate silver and diamond art deco earrings with a matching pearl and diamond necklace.

“This is… this is too much, Marcus,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “These must have cost a fortune!”

“Not as much as you would think,” he said, humbly. While they certainly had cost a bit, it wasn’t too bad. And Marcus was happy buying them for her. Much more than the ostentatious jewelry his ex at insisted he gift her with on a regular basis. “But don’t worry about it, Nor. It’s your birthday and you deserve all the diamonds in the world.” She blushed as she looked up at him, smiling.

“But where on earth would I wear all those diamonds?” she asked in jest. He shrugged.

“Dunno, but sure we could create some reasons,” he replied. Nora laughed as she put the box down and stood, walking over to him. She kissed him and few moments and then stepped back.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Anything for you,” he said. Nora laughed again and then pushed away from him.

“I need to get ready,” she said, walking to the bathroom. “Don’t want to be late to my own party.”

~~~

Nora’s eyes were wide as she and Marcus stepped out of the cab. She pulled her fur coat tight around her, fighting off the early winter chill. Underneath his coat, Marcus had donned a 20s tuxedo, complete with tails, a white vest and a white bowtie. A top hat sat smartly on his perfectly styled hair. He had sneakily used a bit of charm work and hair potion while Nora was in the shower.

“How did he know I’ve been dying to try this place?” she said, taking in the rather nondescript brick building that for all intents and purposes looked like an abandoned factory from the outside. Granted the long line of people in various 20s-inspired clothing trailing down the sidewalk gave away that it was anything but. It was the latest 1920s/speakeasy club to open in the city and it was notoriously difficult to get a table reservation, though somehow Adrian had pulled it off - Marcus had his suspicions even though Laura had been coy about the details. The entrance was down an alley on the side of the building. Marcus led her towards it, not bothering with the line. He had to admit that Adrian surprised him.

They stepped up to a man with a clipboard dressed as a gangster.

“Party for Nora Pucey,” Marcus said. The man looked at the clipboard and nodded, stepping aside to let them up to a large, bolted door. Marcus knocked three times and a peephole slid open.

“Password?” a voice growled.

“Bobcat,” Marcus said with a chuckle as Nora’s cheeks reddened. The peephole slid shut as the door opened, allowing them entry.

“That fucker…” she said as they walked into a red-velvet entry lounge. A woman dressed as a flapper stepped up greeted them, then started to lead them towards a narrow staircase going down.

“What does it mean?” Marcus asked, glancing down at her.

“Old nickname from high school – don’t ask,” she muttered. The farther down they went, the louder it got with jazzy music blaring. Once they reached the bottom and looked around, Nora started grinning again. They were in a large main room with a dance floor in front of a stage where flappers were dancing to a live band . It was dark and along one wall was a long bar with vintage bottles lining the wall behind it. On the other were several curtained booths while there were also a smattering of small standing tables behind the dancefloor. It was as though they had literally stepped into an underground club from the 20s. The woman led them across the room and down a small, dark hallway, also lined with curtains on each side. About halfway down, she stopped and turned to the couple, pulling a curtain aside.

“Enjoy your night,” she said, motioning for them to enter. Marcus and Nora stepped into a small room with emerald green velvet chairs and a chandelier lighting it up. Off to the side was a sort of mini bar, with a bartender standing there making up cocktails. On one wall was a large flatscreen that showed whatever was going on outside on the stage. Standing there were several of Nora’s work and university friends, along with Adrian, Oliver, Katie, Laura and Blaise. They were all decked out in proper 1920 attire, with Adrian even donning coattails for the occasion. Marcus was surprised to see Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet standing with Katie. Though he supposed it was now Angelina Weasley. He never did hear who or if Alicia had married.

“There she is! The woman of the hour!” Adrian shouted, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Happy birthday, Nora!” everyone shouted, holding up their glasses. Nora laughed as Marcus helped her out of her fur coat and Laura ran up to her.

“I knew that dress would be fabulous on you,” she said, hugging her. “And my, what beautiful jewelry. Marcus did well.” The brunette glanced up at him as he chuckled and hung their coats up.

“Careful about giving expensive jewelry to birds, mate,” Oliver said, looking at Marcus.

“Or what, Wood?” Angelina asked, grinning and then winking at Katie, who started blushing. Oliver sputtered a bit and then looked away, taking a drink. Nora looked at the two women and then at Katie, an eyebrow raised. She vaguely recognized one from the Halloween party.

“Right, these are some of our friends from school – Angelina Weasley and Alicia Jordan. I hope you don’t mind that I invited them,” Katie said quickly. “I wanted them to meet you.” Nora smiled at the two women. She got a feeling that she would like them after one look at their bright grins.

“The more the merrier,” she replied with a laugh.

“That is a gorgeous dress,” Alicia said, stepping up to her. “Where on earth did you get it?” Nora looked over at Laura.

“I suspect my best friend is the one to credit, though Adrian had said he would pick out my dress,” she said.

“Hey now, that’s only because Laura saw it before I did,” Adrian said, frowning at her. “I would have picked it out for you.”

“Sure, Adey,” Nora said. Angelina and Alicia looked confused, glancing over at Katie.

“Nora’s nickname for him,” she said softly. The both nodded and looked back over as others started to walk up to greet Nora. It was then that they finally noticed Marcus standing at her side, an arm around her waist. He suddenly felt on display as they gawked slightly, taken aback by the sight of their old quidditch rival standing with his arm around a muggle woman. He kept sneaking glances at them, as they whispered together a bit before Katie elbowed Angelina and glared at her slightly. The two women looked slightly ashamed and moved over to Marcus as Nora wandered over to a group of work friends.

“Long time no see, Flint,” Angelina said, smiling a bit stiffly. He nodded and attempted what he hoped was a friendly smile. Really, the rivalry was over decades ago. He didn’t understand why things had to still be so awkward.

“Has been awhile. How’s that husband of yours?” he asked, glancing at Nora, who was talking to Adrian and Laura.

“Up to the usual tricks and such,” she said with a sigh. “The shop’s doing well.” He looked over at Alicia. He remembered that she had continued on in quidditch as well for a time.

“Take it you and Lee finally got together,” he asked as Adrian walked over, handing him a drink from the bar. Alicia nodded.

“About 15 years now,” she said. She glanced over at Nora. “How on earth did you two meet?”

“That would be my doing,” Adrian said, grinning. “Had a little shindig at my flat a few months ago and introduced them. Did just about whatever I could to get them together.” Marcus shook his head, laughing.

“I don’t recall us needing much help,” he said, taking a sip. “Nora did ask me out the day after you introduced us.”

“You did need it and you know what I’m talking about,” Adrian sang before he sauntered off towards Nora’s work friends with a grin on his face. Nora came back over and sighed, sliding an arm around Marcus.

“I will admit, Adey did good,” she said, looking up at Marcus. She then looked over at the two women. “So I take it you guys knew Marcus in school too?” Angelina and Alicia’s eyes widened as they looked over at him. They had been fully warned about Nora and the other muggle guests in advance, but they weren’t exactly sure what they were allowed to say about him.

“Well, yes, we did… though we didn’t really hang out,” Angelina said.

“Ah, was he a massive dick to you too?” Nora asked, grinning. Angelina and Alicia’s eyes widened even more. Marcus was by now long used to her saying whatever popped into her head. “He told me about his bullying days. Thank god he grew out of that.” She looked up at him, still smiling.

“In case you didn’t notice, Nor’s got zero filter,” Marcus said with a sigh and a laugh. The two women seemed to relax, noting the former bully’s relaxed demeanor.

“I wouldn’t assume anyone related to Adrian Pucey to be any different,” Angelina said with a laugh. Nora just shrugged.

“Eh, what can I say? I’m a Pucey,” she replied. “We’re known for a our smart mouths.”

“That’s the truth,” Marcus muttered, glancing over at Adrian. “I remember that particular Pucey’s mouth getting him into trouble quite a lot in school.”

“As did mine,” Nora said. “He taught me well…”

“So what is it do you do?” Alicia asked, bringing the conversation back to Nora.

“I’m senior features writer at a music magazine,” Nora said.

“A journalist? I see,” Angelina said, trying not to make a face. Reporters didn’t have the best of reputations in the wizarding world - even now.

“She interviews all sorts of musicians and goes to a lot of shows and concerts. Works at a very reputable magazine,” Marcus said quickly, hoping to dispel any sort of misunderstandings. “She’s really brilliant at it. Always discovering new musicians and the like.”

“And I take this one with me a lot,” Nora said. “Figured it never hurts to have a bit of muscle next to me with some of the dive bars and shady music clubs I go to.”

“Marcus Flint goes to concerts? And dive bars?” Alicia said, staring at Marcus, seemingly in shock.

“Nora’s been guiding me through the lesser known gems of the music scene here,” he replied, nearly catching himself adding muggle in there.

“Though I do still hit up big shows when I can. We just saw the Gorillaz a few days ago,” Nora said.

“Who?” Angelina asked.

“Gorillaz? Clint Eastwood? Feel Good Inc?” Nora said, both women just shook their heads and shrugged. Nora sighed. “Seriously, Adey. What is it with your friends and their dismal music knowledge?” 

“Don’t blame me!” Adrian shouted. “Not my fault in the slightest!” Nora laughed and looked over to the TV.

“Ah! I read about this! They have this band that performs 20s versions of popular songs and looks like they’re setting up. Let’s go catch them!” she said, grinning at Marcus. He laughed at her childlike glee.

“Lead the way,” he said as Nora started to pull him out of the room.

“Is that really the same Marcus Flint from school?” Angelina asked after they had left. Adrian overheard her and started laughing.

“You’d be surprised just how much he’s changed,” he said as he walked towards the door, grabbing Laura’s wrist along the way.

“Hey!” she shouted as she glared at him playfully. “C’mon, Levins. Let’s go dance. Wood! I expect to see you and Katie out on the floor as well!”

~~~

Marcus tossed his head back laughing at Nora’s attempts to Charleston. She may be a talented writer and singer, and generally good at dancing as well, but something about the move had her constantly getting her legs tangled up, even when she hiked up her skirts to above her knees.

“Come on, let’s see you try!” she shouted over the music, her hands planted on her hips. Marcus shook his head and pulled her close to him.

“No, thank you. I know my limitations,” he said, swinging her around. Nora laughed as they moved in time with the music. She looked over, seeing Adrian swinging Laura around and then Katie and Wood dancing near them. “You having fun so far?” Nora nodded enthusiastically.

“Best birthday ever,” she said.

“Nor! Shots when the band finishes!” Adrian yelled at her, motioning back towards the room. Nora laughed and nodded, starting to follow him, Marcus’ hand in hers. Suddenly, she stopped, causing Marcus to run into her back.

“What’s going on, Nor?” he shouted, looking down at her. She was frowning as she stared at a man standing in front of her in a suit. He fidgeted slightly before running his hand through his blonde hair.

“What are you doing here!” she shouted, her free hand settling on her hip.

“Can’t an old friend wish you happy birthday?” he said.

“An old friend, yes. You, Mark, no,” Nora said. Marcus’ eyes widened before he started scowling. This must be the ex. What the hell was he doing here? “What the fuck are you doing in London?”

“Had some business here. Thought I’d stop by and hi,” he said, smiling, his eyes flicking quickly to Marcus behind her.

“How did you know I’d be here?” she asked. “Resorting to stalking now? Fuck, I didn’t even know I would be here!”

“Look, Nor, if you would just let me speak,” he started. Nora put her hand up, silencing him as she continued to glare.

“We’re done talking, Mark. God, did you not get the message? I moved to an entirely new country just to get the fuck away from you,” she shouted, ignoring the fact that a few people around them were starting to stare at the altercation. Marcus moved closer towards her, more so because he was worried that he’d need to step in to stop her from launching herself at the man and strangling him.

“But I wanted to apolo-”

“No! Too late, Mark,” she spat pulling Marcus with her as she started to walk off.

“If you would just listen,” Mark said, grabbing her arm. Nora stopped and scowled at him.

“I think she said she didn’t want to talk, mate,” Marcus growled, towering over the two. Nora jumped slightly and glanced up at him, not used to seeing this side of Marcus. It seemed a bit of the old bully was still there. Mark glared at him.

“I don’t know who you are, but this is between me and Nora,” Mark said.

“I do know who you are, and I would like for you to unhand my girlfriend,” Marcus said, looking more frightening as he stepped closer to him. Mark’s eyebrows shot up as he looked down at Nora.

“You didn’t waste any time,” he retorted. Nora rolled her eyes.

“We broke up two years ago. And from what I remember, you were the one who cheated on me. Twice,” she said, yanking her arm from his hand.

“Yea, but you’ve only been here a few months,” Mark said.

“You don’t get a say in my life, shithead,” Nora shouted, still glaring at him.

“Nora, can we please just talk?” Mark asked again.

“No, we can’t! I don’t want to talk to you. If this is you trying to get me back at Billboard or otherwise, you can forget about it,” she shouted, starting to move passed him. He reached out and grabbed her arm again.

“Nora!”

“Let. Her. Go,” Marcus growled getting in the man’s face. Mark gulped slightly as he let go and stepped back, his hands up.

“Fine. I’ll go,” he said, looking back and forth between the two. Nora nodded as he turned and started to walk away. He got about two feet when Mark’s feet mysteriously got tangled up in each and he landed flat on his face. Nora jumped slightly, her had flying to her mouth in shock, though Marcus could see her barely fighting off giggles. Marcus looked around, noticing Adrian and Laura nearby, grinning. Adrian was slyly slipping his wand back in his pocket, looking smug while Laura had her arms crossed in front of her. Marcus chuckled to himself and looked over, seeing Mark start to get up. It was juvenile, for sure, but he couldn’t help but take part in the pranks. He reached into his pocket and pulled his own out, though keeping it hidden by his side. He muttered under his breath and watched as the one foot Mark had managed to get up slipped and he was back prone on the ground, which only made Adrian and Laura laugh harder as they glanced over at him.

Adrian pretended to tip an invisible hat towards Marcus as he started pulling Laura towards the room.

“Do you think we should help him?” Nora asked, glancing back at Marcus, though the amused look on her face read that she wanted to do anything but help the man. Marcus slipped his wand back in his pocket without her noticing as Mark jumped up, straightened his jacket and stormed off.

“I think he’s fine. Come on. Time for birthday shots,” Marcus said, smiling down at her. Nora chuckled and continued back to the room.

~~~

Once they were back in the room, Adrian immediately pulled Nora and Marcus over to the side.

“What the hell was that?” he asked quietly. Nora shrugged.

“Hell if I should know. I didn’t even know we were going to be here,” she said. “Did either of you say anything?” Laura snorted.

“As if I’d speak to the likes of him. Mark always was garbage,” she said. Nora looked at Adrian.

“You didn’t even find out what we were doing, so don’t look at him,” Adrian said. Nora sighed and looked around her work friends.

“Maybe someone from the magazine posted it somewhere and he saw it?” she offered. “I highly doubt that he is capable of stalking at any sort of level.”

“Shall I go interrogate?” Adrian asked, a serious look coming across his face. Nora laughed softly and shook her head.

“No. He’s gone. For now, let’s just enjoy the rest of the party,” she said, pulling Marcus over towards the bar and ordering up two drinks.

“You really okay?” Marcus asked softly once they were alone. Nora looked up at him and smiled.

“I’m fine. He was an asshole, yes. But I’m certainly not traumatized by seeing him,” she replied.

“The gall he had, showing up here at your birthday party,” Marcus muttered. Nora laughed loudly and handing him a drink.

“Marcus, relax. We’re here to get drunk and have fun. Don’t let that dipshit ruin the mood,” she said, walking back over towards Katie and the others.

“So, Nora, Katie says you moved a few months ago. How are you finding London?” Angelina asked a bit later.

“God, I love it. I don’t know why my parents ever wanted to leave,” Nora exclaimed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. New York is nice. We were outside the city, but close enough I could go in for work and such, but I love being here so much more.”

“New York City?” Alicia asked, her eyes lighting up. “I would love to visit.”

“You should. It’s a great place. Tons of hole-in-the-wall music joints,” Nora replied.

“If you hadn’t noticed, most of Nora’s conversations revolve around music,” Adrian said. Nora glanced over at her cousin, happily noting the fact his arm was around Laura. She had always thought the two would make a good pair. And it was amusing that her cousin seemed to be getting together with her best friend while she was happily dating his. “It can get annoying but we choose to think of it as endearing.” Nora snorted slightly.

“Marcus doesn’t seem to mind,” she said, glancing up at the man in question.

“That’s just because he’s still in the honeymoon period. He’ll soon tire of it,” Adrian replied.

“By then baseball season will have started and then it’ll be non-stop baseball,” Laura said, grinning. “He’ll be wishing she was back to talking non-stop music.” Marcus chuckled.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angelina and Alicia look at each other in confusion. He laughed again, taking note to explain the muggle sport later when Nora was off talking to someone else.

“For the record, we’ve already been talking baseball and Marcus is fine with joining me at games,” Nora said, pulling herself up to her full height. “He’s actually looking forward to it.” Adrian cast a dubious look Marcus’ way.

“Don’t give me that look, Pucey. I am actually looking forward to it,” he said before taking a drink. Angelina and Alicia just stared at him as Katie and Wood walked up, returning from the dance floor.

“Get you a drink?” he asked. Katie smiled and nodded. Wood then kissed her cheek and walked over to the bar, leaving a blushing Katie in his wake.

“Seems things are going well with Oliver,” Nora said with a smile.

“Very well, from the looks of it,” Angelina replied, grinning.

“Oh, shut it, Angelina,” Katie said, causing the group to laugh.

“Someone looking to be the next Mrs. Wood?” Alicia asked, trying to look innocent. Katie’s face turned a brighter shade of red.

“It’s not been that long,” she sputtered as Oliver walked up, two drinks in hand.

“What’s not been long?” he asked, holding one out for Katie, causing the group to laugh loudly.

“Nothing,” Katie said before taking hers and downing a good portion of it.

“By the way, I never got the chance to tell you, brilliant Halloween party, Nora,” Alicia said, changing the subject and saving her friend from more embarrassment. “Your costume was amazing.” Nora beamed in pride.

“Why thank you. Pride myself on throwing a good party,” she said.

“She’s a miracle worker. Even got Marcus in a costume,” Adrian said. The two women looked at Marcus in awe. He just shrugged.

“She does go all out with those sorts of things,” he said humbly.

“Which is why I knew I had my work cut out with this party,” Adrian said, obviously fishing for a compliment.

“Christ, Adey. I’ve already told you I was happy with it,” Nora said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, is that so?” he said, casually studying his nails. Nora rolled her eyes.

“Fine, it’s amazing,” she said. Adrian leaned closer.

“I’m sorry, what was that? Didn’t hear you,” he said.

“Its. Ah. Mae. Zing,” Nora said, shouting. Adrian grinned.

“Why thanks, cuz,” he said. Nora huffed slightly, but couldn’t hide her grin. Marcus leaned down.

“You’re currently thinking that you couldn’t have done better, aren’t you?” he whispered in her ear. Nora chuckled and looked up at him.

“Yea, but I won’t say that out loud. He’ll never let me live it down,” she said. Marcus pecked her on the lips.

“Your secret is safe with me,” he said.

“Knew I kept you around for something,” she replied.

“Ah, besides my dashing good looks?” he said, grinning down at her. Nora chuckled and turned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Of course,” she said. “I’d never be able to move large boxes without you around.”

“Or reach the top shelf of your cabinets?” he offered.

“Or that,” she said, smiling. Nearby, unbeknownst to the couple, Alicia and Angelina were watching with eyebrows raised.

“Yea, I know,” Katie said softly so only the group could hear.

“Odd seeing him like that, innit?” he said as the two continued talking and smiling at each other.

“And someone without magic to boot,” Angelina said quietly. “Who would have thought?”

“He’s not the same Flint from school, that’s for sure,” Alicia added. Katie chuckled.

“You’ll get used to it. He and Nora are actually rather fun to hang out with,” she said. “Oliver and I have been going out with them, Adrian, Blaise and Laura a bit.” Both women whipped their heads over to look at the couple.

“Really? Wood? Hanging out with Flint? And enjoying it,” Angelina said, looking over at her former captain. Oliver just shrugged.

“When you think about it, seems childish to hold on to all that old shite,” he said before taking a drink. “Poor bloke’s been through enough. The divorce. And then pretty much getting disowned because he’s dating Nora.” All three women gawked at him then quickly glanced over to make sure that Marcus and Nora couldn’t hear.

“Does Nora know?” Katie asked. Oliver shook his head no.

“Can’t very well tell her about that without letting her in on the big secret, can you?” he said.

“But she’s not really muggle. Her dad and cousin are wizards. Can’t he tell her?” Alicia asked. Wood shook his head no again.

“Pucey says they aren’t to say anything until her father agrees. And the old codger won’t,” he replied. The four looked back at the couple who were now dancing around to jazzy Broadway version of “Despacito.”

“I don’t envy him and Pucey the task. Imagine finding out that your parents lied to you about something that big your entire life,” Wood said. The three women nodded slowly.

“So, Nor. How does it feel to be 33?” Marcus asked, gazing down at her. Nora thought a moment.

“Well… mostly the same as 32. But… I feel like it’s going to be a wonderful year,” she said, grinning up at him.

“And why’s that?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, I got you,” she said. Marcus smiled down at her. “I know it’s only been a few months we’ve been together, but I already can’t imagine not having you around. You’ve kinda grown on me, kid.”

“I feel the same,” Marcus said, feeling it was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he loved her. But at that moment, he felt all the eyes in the room on them, so he held off. He’d prefer to say it the first time in more private settings. “You’re amazing, Nor,” he said instead. Nora laughed softly.

“I’m just me,” she said, attempting to downplay his comment.

“Doesn’t make you any less amazing,” he replied. Nora stopped dancing and gazed up at him, those dark blue eyes once again drawing him in.

“Marcus, I-”

“SHOTS!” Adrian shouted, diverting their attention. Nora almost rolled her eyes, cursing her cousin’s horrible timing. But she couldn’t help but laugh at him. He was gleefully walking a tray of shots over to the table. She looked back at Marcus and smiled.

“Christ, you may just have to carry me home tonight,” she said, pulling him over. Marcus chuckled.

“I’ll do it gladly.”


	14. Chapter 14

Marcus sighed as he watched the snow fall on his balcony in the coming twilight. It was a rare weekend he spent alone at his flat. Nora was in the U.S. on business and would be back Sunday night. She had taken a couple short trips since she moved there and Marcus found his life rather quiet and dull when she wasn’t around. Even the nights he didn’t spend with her, she was constantly calling or texting. But when she was gone on work assignments, she couldn’t text as much.

She had been gone three days already. He felt like the weekend was going to go by painfully slow without her bright personality around. Which is why Adrian had insisted they have a guys night out in Diagon Alley. It had been quite awhile since Marcus had spent a night out in the Alley and figured he was due one. If anything it would make the weekend go by faster.

He walked over and pulled his thick winter coat on, then grabbed his wand, putting it in his pocket. He then closed his eyes and popped out of his flat, reappearing outside a newer pub. He walked in and looked around, seeing Adrian already there with Wood and Blaise.

“Flint! Get over here!” Adrian shouted, waiting him over. Marcus made his way through the crowd and then settled on a stool. “Nice of you to finally make it.”

“I’m not late,” Marcus said, scowling. “You just unusually early. Take it it’s because you lot on are on break for the winter?”

“Thank Merlin for that. Chloe gets back in about a week and a half,” Oliver said.

“Blimey, what are you going to do with a teenager for two weeks?” Marcus asked with a chuckle. He had to admit he had a hard time seeing his old nemesis as a father.

“Well, she’ll no doubt spend most of the time either in her room reading or listening to music or out with her friends,” he admitted.

“Isn’t the point for her to spend time with you?” Blaise asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Have you had any children that I’m unaware of?” Oliver said, scowling at Blaise. “Sure we’ll do some practice on the pitch at Puddlemere. But outside quidditch, we don’t have much in common. She’s more like her mother in that regard.”

“There’s a reason I don’t have kids,” Adrian said, taking a drink. “And thank Merlin you and Pansy didn’t have any.”

“Tell me about it,” Marcus said. “I know she would have used them to bilk me for even more money.”

“How much did you end up settling for?” Oliver asked.

“A lot less than I was expecting since we didn’t have any kids and she was well off on her own before we married,” he said, sipping from his whiskey. “The alimony’s not that bad and I can cover it easily with what the practice is bringing in. She got a rather large inheritance from her grandfather shortly after and I was able to get the payments lowered.”

“Just be glad you didn’t have to pay for two,” Oliver said. Marcus chuckled.

“And whose fault is that? Had I been friends with you at the time, I would have definitely warned you about the last one,” he said. Wood scowled at him.

“Like you wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to date a 20-something?” he retorted. Marcus pointed at Adrian.

“That’s more his thing,” he said, still chuckling.

“Besides, we all know you and Nor are going to end up tying the knot soon enough anyway,” Adrian said. The guys all laughed as Marcus shrugged, decidedly nonplussed about the statement.

“You’re not serious are you?” Wood asked, staring at the man.

“Possibly,” he said. “Been thinking about it a bit more lately. Never met anyone like Nor.”

“But… how d’you managed with the whole no magic stuff?” Blaise asked. Marcus sighed.

“Not using it around her is easy enough. I don’t make many slips anymore. But… It’s hard sometimes. I want to tell her everything, but I can’t,” he said truthfully.

“Well, if you marry her, she’s going to have to know,” Wood said bluntly. “That or you’re gonna have to go complete muggle.” Marcus looked pointedly at Adrian, who sighed.

“I know, I know. I’m still working on her father,” he said. “He can be a right old codger sometimes.”

“She’s an adult and she’s at least part magical… shouldn’t be any trouble with the law,” Blaise pointed out.

“A bit more than part, I’d say. You could feel it when she played music,” Wood commented. “Nothing big, mind you, but makes you feel things.” Marcus let out the breath he had been holding and nodded. Truth be told, the more time he spent around Nora, the more he was convinced that had she been raised in the wizarding world, she might have had a bit more proclivities. Or not. Truth be told, there were still a lot of things he still didn’t understand about magic.

“And that is another mystery,” Adrian said, a slight grimace on his face. “Figuring out just what happened to Frederick Pucey’s children.”

“Nora’s got siblings?” Blaise asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Younger sister. Eliza. She’s 28. A nurse. And then David…” Adrian said. He stopped, staring down at his drink.

“He died about four years ago,” Marcus added quietly. “When he was 17.” The men shifted uncomfortably on their stools.

“And all… no magic?” Wood asked quietly. Adrian grimaced again, obviously lost in his thoughts.

“As far as we know,” he said finally. “There could have been… dunno… maybe it showed up in other ways. Like with Nora and her music. Maybe the reason Eliza’s so good with her work is that it manifested as healing hands. I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

They all sat quietly for a moment, the noise of the pub carrying on around them. Marcus had wondered if there was more to the Puceys than he originally thought.

Either way, it seemed as though they were all still sworn to secrecy for the time being - something he was going to have to continue to live with.

~~~~

“So who are we waiting on?” Adrian shouted towards the kitchen where Nora was pouring some freshly made queso into a bowl. It was a week before Christmas and Nora decided to invite Adrian, Laura, Oliver and Katie over for an impromptu game night before the holidays. Oliver’s daughter was at a sleepover while Katie’s sons were with their grandparents.

Marcus glanced at her from where he sat on the sofa, watching as she made her way over to the living room.

“Just Oliver and Katie,” she said, placing it next to a large bowl of chips. “What should we play tonight? We haven’t tried Monopoly yet.”

“Ah, maybe not that one,” Adrian said, grabbing a chip. Marcus chuckled, remembering Adrian try to explain it to him and Blaise one night in case Nora ever made them play. After about an hour, he gave up and swore he’d talk Nora out of it if she tried.

“Trivial Pursuit?” she offered next.

“You’re the only one who’s good at that one,” Adrian countered.

“It’s not that hard,” Nora shot back.

“Says the walking encyclopaedia of useless information,” Laura retorted as she winked at Marcus. He didn’t think that one would go over with the others either, seeing as they knew barely anything about muggle pop culture or history.

“Catch Phrase, then?” Nora asked next. Laura and Adrian silently conferred with each other. “At this point, it’s that or Charades.”

“We could always do Pictionary. That went over well last time,” Adrian said with a grin. Nora burst out laughing.

“I must admit, Oliver had a pretty interesting interpretation of the Eiffel Tower,” she said.

“I’m curious to see what sort of masterpiece he comes up with tonight,” Marcus said with a chuckle.

“I invited Angelina and her husband,” Nora said suddenly, causing Adrian to whip his head around to her. Marcus caught his shocked expression before he quickly rearranged it into something more casual. From next to him Laura stifled a few giggles, no doubt entertained by the notion of George Weasley in Nora’s flat attempting to pass off as muggle.

“Oh really? But they aren’t coming?” Adrian asked. Nora shook her head.

“Angelina said they were busy. Apparently he’s got a massive family which makes the holidays pretty crazy,” she said, reaching for something off a veggie tray.

“I bet,” Adrian said, settling back into the loveseat.

“Didn’t you guys go to school with him too?” Nora asked.

“Yea, he was a couple years below us,” Marcus said. Nora laughed.

“I seriously don’t get it. It’s like you all refuse to make friends with anyone outside of school. I rarely - if ever - talk to people I went to high school with,” she said. Laura shrugged.

“It’s a bit of an exclusive school,” she said. “Tight knit and all.”

“You think I would have gone there if Mom and Dad stayed here?” Nora asked, suddenly.

“Possibly….” Adrian said. “Though the whole part of moving to the States was to get away from that whole posh scene.” Nora shrugged as the door chimed.

“DOORS OPEN!” Adrian shouted. Nora rolled her eyes.

“Lazy much,” she said as they heard the door open and the couple walk in.

“Ah good, you haven’t gotten started yet,” Oliver said, smiling.

“Nope! Waiting on you two!” Nora said with a grin. “Chloe get settled in?”

“Suppose so. She barely talks. Mostly just glares at me,” he said, settling next to Adrian as Katie moved to sit next to Nora.

“Suppose it’s that age. I didn’t talk to Mom and Dad around then either. I think you’re just dealing with run-of-the-mill sullen teenager,” Nora said. Oliver shook his head slightly.

“What I am going to do with a 16 year old for two weeks…” he muttered, causing the others to chuckle.

“What are we playing tonight?” Katie asked as Nora got up to fix her a glass of wine.

“Adey thinks we should do Pictionary again,” she called over. “See what new masterpiece Oliver has in store for us.” Oliver frowned as he looked over at her.

“I thought it was rather good,” he shouted, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Rather good for the Eiffel Tower or rather good for a-”

“Nor!” Marcus shouted, cutting her off. Nora just laughed.

“Not my fault you have the mind of a 12-year-old boy,” Oliver muttered.

“Sure,” Katie said with a giggle and a slight roll of her eyes. Nora walked back over, holding out a glass of wine to Katie and a glass of whisky to Oliver. “Oh, Alicia said to tell you thank you for the invitation but she and her husband have some family thing.” Adrian and Marcus shared a look.

“The Jordans too, Nor?” Adrian asked. Nora shrugged as she sat down.

“Just making friends,” she said, as she reached for her glass of wine.

“With all our old schoolmates?” Oliver asked.

“You got me. I wanted to hang out so I could dig up fresh dirt on Adrian and Marcus,” Nora said, grinning mischievously.

“Doubt you would have found much on me. Though I’m certain that George Weasley would have a mouthful to say about Marcus,” Adrian replied with a chuckle. Nora looked over at her boyfriend, an amused look on her face.

“Just how hated were you?” she asked. Oliver snorted.

“Everyone in Gryf- I mean… most of my friends in my dorms weren’t so keen on him,” he said, nearly catching himself. Katie glared at him slightly as Laura giggled. Being much younger than them - and muggleborn - not to mention used to hanging around Nora, she didn’t fight nearly so hard to cover her tracks.

“I really don’t understand this boarding school of yours,” Nora said. “Insane dorm loyalty. Rarely making friends outside of school. Sounds like some sort of cult, to be honest.”

“In some ways, it was,” Laura said, garnering scowls from most of the group. Except Marcus, who was laughing softly. And Adrian. Marcus figured it was their bond as Slytherins that often had them siding against Wood and Katie.

“It was not!” Oliver shouted indignantly.

“Tell me, Oliver, how many of your friends went somewhere besides this boarding school?” Laura asked.

“Plenty! There’s, ah, well… for starters, I know…”

“Precisely my point. Too many of our classmates only ever associate with others who went to our school - much worse, only those in their same dorm. It’s about time that everyone broaden their horizons,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.

“I’m happy to say that I’ve got a fair amount of friends outside school,” Adrian said, puffing his chest slightly. Nora snorted.

“How many of them did I introduce you to?” she asked. Adrian scowled at her slightly.

“I’ve met some of them all on my own,” he said. “The blokes that live down the hall from me, for one.”

“You mean the ones that I ran into one time when I came over and they only showed up at your next house party because one offered to help me carry my bags?” Nora asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I would have met them on my own eventually,” Adrian whined slightly.

“So, you all went to school together… there must be some fun stories there,” Nora said, her eyes lighting up. Marcus shifted in his seat slightly, wondering how they were going to pull that off without talking about magic. Laura looked at the silent group.

“Yes, please do tell us some of these stories,” she urged, grinning. “I wasn’t there at the same time so I’m dying to hear about your mischief.”

“Well, for starters, that one had a pretty awful mug back in the day. What did they call you? Troll?” Adrian said, looking at Marcus. Nora looked over at him, her eyes wide.

“Troll? Really?” she said. Marcus chuckled.

“Yea, puberty was an interesting time,” he said.

“I will say you do look much better since you’ve had your teeth fixed and started wearing your hair different,” Katie said. “In fact, I probably wouldn’t have recognized you if Oliver here hadn’t said it was you.”

“Wood, on the other hand, looks exactly the same,” Adrian said.

“I do not!” Wood said, glaring at Adrian. “I look much better!”

“Come on, you were one of the most popular blokes back then,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “Everyone wanted to date The Ever Handsome Oliver Wood.” Oliver looked over at her.

“Including you?” he asked, starting to smile. Katie blushed slightly.

“Maybe…” she said.

“If you want to see a true ugly duckling story, you should see Nor’s old photos,” Adrian said, grinning.

“Nope. I burned them all,” she said quickly. Adrian looked over at Marcus.

“Really, then what’s in those photo albums on the bottom shelf of your bookcase?” Marcus said looking down at her. She whipped her head over to him and then back just in time to see Adrian leap over the back of the loveseat and dash for her office.

“Adey, don’t you dare!” she shouted as Marcus held her down, laughing.

“Oh, these are brilliant, Nor,” Adrian said, walking back in and flipping through a large blue book.

“I’ll never forgive you,” Nora said while laughing as she tried to elbow her way out of Marcus’ arms. He just chuckled.

“I’ve already been through the whole lot. Really, Nor, they aren’t that bad,” Marcus said. “Your junior high and high school ones are fine. You look better in them than I did at that age.”

“Oh, the ones from primary school most definitely are bad,” Adrian said, pushing passed Wood and sitting down. Immediately, Wood and Katie were leaning over, looking at the pages. Katie looked up at Nora.

“That’s you?” she asked. Nora sighed and nodded. “With those wonky glasses and buck teeth?”

“Two rounds of braces,” Nora said, settling back into Marcus’ arms. “And I finally started to grow out of my baby fat after starting dance classes.”

“What the bloody hell is that?” Oliver asked, pointing at a photo of Nora in some sort of uniform with fluffy balls of something in her hands.

“Nora here had the all-American upbringing. She was a cheerleader,” Adrian said, grinning. He flipped the page to show more photos of her in the same uniform, one of her in a splits.

“You still do that?” Oliver asked, pointing at the photo. Nora sat up to see what he was talking about.

“Ah, that would be a no,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do a split since college.”

“Shame,” Marcus commented, earning him an elbow to the ribs as the others laughed.

“Blimey, what’s going on there?” Katie asked, pointing at another photo of a young, blonde Nora mid-shriek, braces glinting on her teeth.

“That would be when I got her a copy of ‘Titanic’ for her 15th birthday,” Adrian said. “You were rather obsessed with that one. Nora nodded.

“I was convinced I’d marry Leonardo Dicaprio for a few years,” she said. “Covered my locker in photos of him.”

“Didn’t you end up meeting him finally?” Laura asked. Nora grinned.

“Yea, at a Grammy after party the one year I managed to go. He was every bit as handsome as I had hoped,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “And such a gentleman.” Marcus chuckled.

“Should I be worried?” he asked. Nora glanced at him.

“No… I highly doubt a world famous actor would ever be interested in dating me,” she said with a snort.

“Didn’t you act a bit as well?” Laura asked. Nora rolled her eyes.

“That was high school and I regret telling you,” she shot back. Adrian grinned.

“I still have that DVD,” he said. Nora’s eyes widened as she sat up.

“Tell me you do not!” she shouted. Oliver and Katie looked back and forth between the cousins.

“Nora was the star of a melodrama one year,” he said, grinning.

“I was not the star,” Nora said. “I played someone’s aunt. I was the comic relief.”

“Had this hilarious laugh and chased the villain throughout the entire thing. The makeup alone was brilliant but every time you heard that laugh of hers from off stage-” Adrian dissolved into laughter.

“Let’s hear it then,” Laura said, grinning.

“No. My acting days are behind me,” Nora said, leaning back into Marcus.

“Not even for me?” he whispered in her ear. Nora shivered slightly.

“No. Not even for you,” she said, talking a large gulp of her wine. Adrian winked across the room at Marcus.

“Don’t worry. I’ll dig it out next time you’re over,” he said. Nora glared at him.

“I hate you,” she stated.

“Come on then, we’ve put it off long enough. Time for Wood to show off more of his amazing drawing skills,” Laura said, standing to walk to the office.

“You know Marcus and I are just going to win again,” Nora said with a grin.

“It’s like you two share a brain,” Oliver said, glancing over at them as Adrian flipped through more pages in the photo book.

“Someone’s jealous,” Nora sang.

“Go easy on him, Nor,” Marcus chided. “Not everyone gets as competitive as you.” She snorted and glanced at him.

“Except for you,” she said.

“Which is why I’m always on your team,” he replied.

“Grossing me out again, you two,” Adrian muttered. Laura laughed as she sat back down and started handing out cards and pens.

“Start writing, folks, lest we be here all night.”

~~~~

“Nora, do we really need this much food?” Marcus asked as he trudged next to her, carrying two bags. They were walking from the shops nearest her apartment a couple days before Christmas, trying to miss most of the rush. She looked over at him, her pink curls spilling out under a knit cap.

“You remember how much was left over from Thanksgiving? Barely anything. And we’ve got more people coming this time,” she said, carrying two bags of groceries of her own. Marcus chuckled as they made their way down the frozen sidewalk.

“Marcus Flint?” a nasally voice said from behind them. Marcus stopped, his eyes widening as he immediately recognized the voice. He sighed and turned around, not expecting to run into a Malfoy in the muggle world.

“Narcissa,” he said with a slight nod of his head. Nora turned and looked from Marcus to the smartly dressed older woman. She coolly took in the young woman at Marcus’ side.

“So this is why we haven’t seen you around at events lately,” she said. Marcus took a deep breath.

“Well, to be fair, I hadn’t been coming around to those for some time,” he said. “Not since…”

“Ah, yes. The divorce,” she said bluntly. Nora cleared her throat and glanced up at Marcus.

“Right. This is my girlfriend, Nora,” he said, straightening his back. Narcissa’s eyes widened.

“Nora? Pucey?” she said, taking in her pink hair. “So this is Frederick’s daughter. I’ve been eager to meet you.” Nora glanced up at Marcus, confused as to how a perfect stranger had heard of her.

“Pleasure to meet you, Ms….”

“Narcissa Malfoy,” she said, nodding to the younger woman whose arms were too full to offer a handshake.

“I’m curious, how do you know me?” Nora asked bluntly. Narcissa laughed softly.

“Dare say a lot of people know about your family,” she said replied. Nora’s eyes widened.

“Well that’s news to me. We’ve been in the States since before I was born,” she replied. “You know my father, I take it?”

“Yes, we were old school friends,” she said, glancing at Marcus. “At Hogwarts.”

“Hogwarts? That’s an odd name for a school,” Nora said with a laugh. Marcus scowled at the woman, willing her with his eyes to not say anything more. Narcissa for her part seemed confused as to how Nora hadn’t heard of Hogwarts.

“Also… well, we’re cousins,” she said. Nora stood dumbstruck a moment before taking in the woman’s cool demeanor and fancy dress. This must be some of the family that her father had cut himself off from.

“We’re family?” she asked. “Dad said he cut himself off from everyone when he left.” Narcissa nodded and looked down at the street.

“Well, some of us were… a bit foolish back then. With the war and everything,” she started.

“The war?” Nora asked. “What war?” Narcissa dropped part of her polite exterior, now staring at her in full-on astonishment. It appeared that Marcus’ mother hadn’t shared with the rest of the world that Frederick Pucey’s daughter was without magic and by all means completely unaware that it existed. Though knowing her, he wasn’t completely surprised.

Nor had Draco shared with his mother what Marcus told him on the street.

“You don’t know…” Narcissa said, taking a step towards her.

“I think that’s been enough for now. Awfully sorry, but we’re late. Good to see you, Narcissa,” Marcus said, starting to lead Nora off. Nora scowled at him and then glanced back at the woman.

“What was that about? That… I’m related to her?” Nora asked. Marcus took a deep breath.

“She’s… uh, Narcissa is… unwell,” he said, saying the first thing that came into his mind. To be honest, he had no clue how he was supposed handle this. He hadn’t expected to run into anyone from the wizarding world out here. Least of all, Narcissa Malfoy. The Malfoys more often than not stayed comfortably within the wizarding world.

“What war was she talking about? I don’t remember there being any war in the 80s,” she said.

“She, ah, well like I said, she’s unwell. She gets confused sometimes,” he said. Nora chuckled.

“Well, that’s interesting. I’ll have to ask Dad about it,” she said. Marcus cleared his throat.

“I’m sure he’ll having some things to say about the Malfoys,” he muttered.


	15. Chapter 15

“Merry Christmas!” Nora shouted as she jumped on the bed, waking up Marcus.

“Nor… it’s too early,” he grumbled, putting the pillow over his head.

“No it’s not. Santa already came,” she said gleefully, having way too much energy for someone of her age at that time in the morning.

“Five more minutes,” he pleaded as Nora giggled.

“No! Come on! We only have some time to open presents before we have to start cooking,” she exclaimed.

“Nor… I’m 43 years old. I do not get up at the crack of dawn on Christmas Day for presents,” he groaned. Nora stared at him a moment before grinning. She leaned over and pulled the pillow off his head.

“You won’t even get up for me,” she said softly, her voice low as her breath tickled his ear. Marcus popped an eye open and looked up at her - hair in a haphazard bun, oversized glasses a bit askew.

“Is this your plan? Tempt me awake?” he asked. Nora chuckled, a low and sultry sound. She leaned over and kissed him.

“Is it working?” she asked. Marcus reached up and pulled her down into bed with him as she laughed.

“I believe I need more than five minutes…”

~~~~

Finally, Nora had managed to drag Marcus to the living room. The house had been decorated for nearly a month now with a large Christmas tree set up in front of the windows next to the TV. Nora had skipped over and started pulling presents out, putting them into two piles at his feet in front of the sofa.

“Are you always like this for holidays?” he asked, sipping coffee with an amused look on his face. Nora looked up at him.

“How can you not be?! Holidays are supposed to turn everyone into big piles of mushy love,” she said, rolling her eyes as she stood and dropped the last of the presents on the piles and falling onto the sofa next to him. Marcus put his mug on the coffee table and pulled Nora into his arms, kissing her cheek.

“You turn me into a big pile of mushy love,” he said, causing her to giggle.

“Good, someone needs to melt down that harsh exterior of yours,” she said. Marcus laughed and looked down at her, meeting her dark blue eyes behind the glasses.

“I love you,” he said. Nora gasped softly as she grinned, her eyes tearing up slightly.

“Really?” she breathed. Marcus heart started pounding as he realized what he had just said. He had been thinking it for so long, waiting for the right moment to say it out loud. And then it just popped out. Though looking at it now, it seemed like the perfect moment.

“Really, Nora. I love you,” he said, enjoying the feel of it. “More than I think I’ve loved anyone…”

“I love you, too,” she said, kissing him. In that moment, he felt he was soaring. It was like the floodgates had opened finally saying it out loud. He - Marcus Flint - had fallen completely and head over heels in love with Nora Pucey. A woman who had no idea that magic existed. That he was a wizard. His heart clenched as he remembered there was so much he couldn’t tell her. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to tell Adrian and her father to fuck off and spill everything. He wanted to share his life with this woman. Every part of it.

“Something wrong?” Nora asked, sensing the shift in Marcus. He shook his head no and smiled.

“Nothing… just, you know, thinking about my family,” he lied. Nora nodded and sat up, reaching for a present.

“Nothing a bit of Christmas cheer can’t fix,” she said with a smile. Marcus accepted the package and pecked her on the lips again.

“Or so I hear from a little elf of a woman,” he said, smiling as Nora laughed.

“She sounds wise, this elf of a woman,” she said reaching for her own present. The two then set to opening presents, with Nora making much quicker work of hers. The floor gradually started filling with wrapping paper as she gasped and squealed with nearly every present she opened. Her father had shipped several over from her family in the States - one of which being her favorite liquor that was apparently difficult to find anywhere else in the world. Something she called Apple Pie Moonshine. She had just finished opening the last one when her laptop started chirping.

“Nor, think you’ve got something,” he said, looking over at it sitting on the dining room table. Nora hopped off the sofa and ran over to grab it.

“Ah, it’s Dad,” she said, pressing a button. “Hey, Daddy! Merry Christmas!”

“Happy Christmas, Nor!”

Marcus blanched as he looked around, planning to try and make a quick exit. Before he could move, Nora plopped down on the sofa next to him.

“Perfect timing. We just opened presents,” she said.

“We?” her father replied. Marcus could see a quizzical look on his face.

“Yea, me and Marcus,” she said, tilting the laptop so that both her and Marcus were visible. Frederick Pucey’s eyes widened as he recognized the man sitting next to his daughter.

“Marcus Flint,” he said.

“Hello, Mr. Pucey,” Marcus said nervously. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You as well,” Nora’s father said, narrowing his eyes slightly at the man.

“Oh, my god, Dad. I’m 33. Can we stop with the overprotective father bit,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

“Of course, dear. I just… well… the Flints are old family friends. I wasn’t aware that this was the Marcus you talked about,” he said.

“Oh, well… Adey didn’t say anything about you knowing him or his family,” Nora said, a bit surprised.

“Adrian?” Frederick said.

“Yea, he introduced us,” Nora added.

“Of course he did,” Frederick said, rolling his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nora asked.

“Nothing, dear,” he said, smiling.

“NORA!” another woman shouted as she pushed her father out of the way. She looked like a younger version of Nora, granted with darker hair and sans glasses. But the same dark blue eyes.

“Hey, Liz. How’s my old place? Haven’t destroyed it yet?” she asked. The woman laughed.

“Please,” she declared. “Got your packages, by the way. Thanks for the bag!”

“Figured you’d like it,” Nora said.

“Ooo, is that the man? Hi, man. I’m Eliza. The annoying little sister,” Eliza shouted.

“Hi, Eliza, I’m Marcus,” he said nervously.

“You’re right. He is hot,” Eliza said.

“ELIZA!” Nora shouted, her cheeks turning pink.

“Figured any man who could stand you in those dorky glasses must be a keeper,” Eliza continued.

“Seriously?!”

“When’s Adey coming over?” Eliza asked.

“Later. We’ve got a full house for Christmas dinner. Which I need to start on,” Nora replied.

“Tell him to call me. Please,” Eliza said. “Or make him Skype me when he comes over.”

“Noted,” Nora said. “Now, as much as I love you guys, I _do_ need to start cooking. We have a full house over for dinner.”

“I’m helping,” Marcus said, frowning slightly at Nora.

“And he cooks? Marry him now, Nor,” Eliza replied.

“Marriage?!” Frederick squeaked, Marcus mirroring the slight look of fear that came across his face. Not so much the marriage bit, but the fact it was mentioned in his first time meeting Nora’s father.

“Seriously, what is it was men and marriage,” Nora said to her sister as the two laughed at the expense of Marcus and Frederick.

“Just… seems awfully soon,” Frederick said, recovering. Or at least attempting to. He then scowled at Marcus.

“I assure you, we haven’t been discussing… that,” Marcus said clearing his throat.

“Oh, shut up. We both know Nora brought it up before your first date,” Eliza said, grinning.

“LIZ! THAT WAS A JOKE!” Nora shouted, glaring at her laughing younger sister.

“Hurry up! I need nieces and nephews!” the younger woman shouted. Nora’s cheeks reddened as she grimaced slightly. A look that didn’t go unnoticed by Marcus.

“With that, I bid you both a fond farewell. Tell everyone at home I love and miss them,” Nora said. “Bye!” She quickly disconnected the video call and put the laptop on the coffee table. “Now… food.”

Nora quickly pushed up from the sofa and walked over to the kitchen.

“Do you… do you not like children?” Marcus ventured to ask. Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted any before. Not with Pansy. But being with Nora, he couldn’t lie. The prospect of someday having children with her had come across his mind a few times. He stood and walked around the sofa, watching as she started pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets.

“Oh, I like them just fine,” Nora said, not stopping to look at him. “More like my body doesn’t like them.” Marcus was confused as he stepped closer to her, sensing the tension.

“How do you mean?” he asked. Nora sighed and turned around, leaning against the counter, her arms crossed in front of her.

“I, ah, I found out a few years ago,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I thought that I was pregnant… with Mark. But um, well, I wasn’t. And the doctor said that the chances of me getting pregnant… and going full term… were next to nonexistent.” She finally looked up at him. “Some sort of weird genetic thing. Eliza knows… just being a nurse in labor and delivery she gets excited about babies and sometimes forgets.”

Marcus crossed the floor and took Nora in his arms, kissing the top of her head.

“Then I guess it can’t be helped,” he said, rubbing her back. Nora pushed away from him and looked up.

“You’re not bothered?” she asked. Marcus sighed and smiled.

“It doesn’t bother me, Nor,” he said. “I’m happy with you. I love you. The fact that you can’t have children doesn’t change that. At all.” Nora smiled up at him.

“You are too good to me, Marcus Flint,” she said.

“No, I think it’s the other way around,” he replied. Nora laughed and kissed him.

“We need to get started if we’re going to get everything done before everyone gets here.”

~~~~

Squabbling could be heard from the stairwell outside the apartment later that evening.

“I take it that Wood and his daughter are here,” Adrian said with a grin.

“What’s a holiday without some family angst?” Nora replied from next to Marcus. He glanced down at her and chuckled remembering her father’s reaction to seeing him on the video chat that morning.

The door opened and Wood could be heard furiously whispering instructions to someone.

“Just, be nice,” he finished before stepping into the flat. He walked into the flat, a young girl with light brown hair and the same brown eyes following him. She was tall, though shorter than him, and pretty with an athletic build.

“Hello,” Wood said to everyone. “Katie here yet?”

“No, suspect she’s running a bit late,” Adrian said.

“So, this is Chloe?” Nora said as she walked over to her. “Hi, I’m Nora.” The girl looked at her, momentarily taken aback by her pink hair and tattoos. “Um… Marcus’ girlfriend. Friends with your dad. This is my place.”

“The music writer,” Chloe said finally. She reached out and accepted Nora’s hand. “Chloe Wood. The daughter.”

“I hear you’re an athlete like your dad,” Nora said. “Goalkeeper, right?” Chloe glanced over at her dad and narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Right. I play football. Like my dad,” she said.

“I hear you like music. I’ve got a pretty cool vinyl collection, if you want to check it out,” Nora said.

“Vinyl?” Chloe asked in confusion. Nora sighed and looked at Wood.

“Seriously, you’re failing in her education,” she said. She grabbed Chloe’s arm and started leading her down the hall. “Let’s teach you a bit about music…”

Once they were out of earshot, Adrian started cackling.

“What did you have to do to get her to go along with the muggle stuff,” he asked.

“Money,” Wood said with a sigh as he walked over to the drink table and made himself one. “She’s also none too thrilled about me dating again. Especially once she found out who.”

“She doesn’t like Katie?” Marcus asked.

“She’s indifferent. It’s her son she doesn’t like. Jason Monroe,” Wood said with another sigh. “Apparently there’s a bit of rivalry there. They both want captain of Gryffindor next year.” Marcus chuckled.

“That’s hilarious. Your daughter and Katie’s son hate each other,” he said. Wood glared at him.

“I can’t wait until you have your first. See how you deal,” he said.

“Doubt that… Nora can’t have kids,” he said. Adrian and Wood stopped and stared at him.

“Are you serious?” Adrian asked, glancing toward the hall. “When did you find this out? I didn’t even know.” Marcus sighed.

“This morning. After we video-chatted with her dad and sister,” he said.

“Fuck. Her dad knows about you?” Adrian asked, his eyes wide. Marcus nodded.

“He didn’t seem too thrilled,” he commented.

“I imagine not. His whole thing has been about keeping her away from magic and now he finds out she’s dating a pureblood,” Adrian said. “Suspect I’ll be hearing from him. You didn’t tell him I introduced you, did you?”

“Nora did,” Marcus said.

“Merlin,” Adrian said.

“So… I think you’re going to have to buy a record player now,” Nora said, walking back into the living room with a grin. “She’s taken with vinyls.”

“Right, one more thing on the list,” Wood said with a sigh.

“Dad, you should see this!” Chloe said, running into the room. She grabbed her dad and pulled him back down the hall. About that time, there was a knock on the door. Nora went and answered it, seeing Katie standing among two tall, lanky teen boys with the same blonde hair.

“Katie! You made it!” Nora said, pulling the older woman into a hug. She then led the group into the flat. The two boys looked around, taking it in. They stopped in front of the large photos on the wall, seeming perturbed. They both leaned over and started whispering with each other while pointing at them. “Oliver and Chloe are here too. She’s busy showing him my vinyl collection.”

“Boys,” Katie said. “This is Nora.” The two teens looked at her and nodded. “This is my oldest Jason and then Jeremy.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nora said with a smile.

“You’re American,” Jason said, studying her.

“That would be correct,” she said.

“Why’s your hair pink?” Jeremy asked. Nora shrugged.

“I kinda like pink hair,” she said simply, with a smile. Marcus stepped up to Nora and wrapped an arm around her waist about the same time that Wood and Chloe walked out. Chloe immediately began scowling at the older boy.

“Monroe,” she said.

“Wood.”

Nora looked up at Marcus, barely keeping her laughter to herself.

“Flint,” she said softly, her eyes lighting up.

“Nora,” he warned, laughing at his girlfriend’s playful attitude.

“Right, so… food?” Nora said, looking at the group.

~~~~

Halfway through dinner, things seemed to have settled down. Chloe and Jason kept glaring at each other in between answering questions that Nora fed them. Wood and Katie watched the kids nervously. Adrian was amused by the whole thing, until his phone rang and he scowled. He looked up at Nora, who thankfully wasn’t paying attention and slipped into another room.

“Nora’s dad,” he mouthed to Marcus before he left. Marcus shared a worried look with Wood.

Shouting could be heard, causing Nora to whip her head over.

“What on earth?” she said, starting to stand.

“Leave it. Probably some bird he stood up,” Marcus said. Nora looked over at him.

“But I thought he was dating Laura,” she said.

“Oh, right, ehm-”

“So, is it true that you and my dad were enemies in school?” Chloe asked bluntly, grabbing Marcus’ attention. Marcus choked on his drink and looked at Wood, who couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yea, but… we worked through that,” he said.

“It was legendary,” Katie added. Nora glanced over at Marcus. “They couldn’t be in the same room without nearly throttling each other.”

“Think it was because he was always a better player than me,” Marcus said. “All his fancy plays and such.”

“Football, yea?” Nora asked, wrinkling her nose slightly.

“One of these days you’re going to have to get over your aversion to the sport,” Marcus said. Nora sighed and shook her head.

“Still think baseball is better,” she said before taking a sip of wine. The boys were looking at each other and then the adults in confusion.

“But we play-”

“Football,” Katie said, cutting Jason off with a glare.

“Sorry about that,” Adrian said, walking back in. Jeremy followed him with his eyes before finally speaking.

“You’re Adrian Pucey,” he said, finally realizing who had been sitting across from him at the table. Adrian nodded and grinned.

“Followed my career, did you?” he asked. The boy’s face lit up.

“Of course! Puddlemere’s my favorite!” he exclaimed. Adrian chuckled as Nora rolled her eyes.

“God, do not get him started,” she said. “I constantly had to hear him brag about it growing up.”

“You’re related?” the boy asked.

“My cousin,” Adrian said. “Best music writer in London.”

“Have you met the Weird Sisters?” Jeremy asked before Katie could catch him. Nora looked at him, confused by the name.

“Never heard of them, and I thought I knew most underground bands in the U.K.,” Nora replied. “I’ll have to look them up.”

“It’s just ah… some garage band his school friends are in,” Katie said quickly, fumbling her words. “Nothing to look into.” Nora shrugged as Jeremy scowled at his mother. She glared back, which seemed to shut him up as he turned back to his food.

“I did get to interview Fall Out Boy last week when they were in town,” she said, glancing at the teens. Surely that was a band they knew. The two boys just blinked as Chloe lit up.

“Really?! I’ve always like them,” she said, smiling. Nora smiled and looked around the table, pleased that someone finally recognized a band name she threw out besides Adrian.

“How do you know that band?” Oliver asked, confused as to where his daughter would learn about muggle music.

“Friend from school. She’s always listening to mug- that kind of music. I’ve borrowed some of her CDs,” Chloe said. Nora chuckled.

“Wow, still trading CDs? I thought most kids these days opted for iPods or iPhones,” she said before taking a bite.

“What’s an-”

“Chloe’s not allowed a phone at school,” Oliver said quickly, frowning at his daughter. “School rules and all.” Nora shrugged.

“Super strict,” she commented. She then smiled at Chloe. “I’ll let you dig around on my Mac later and if there’s anything you like, I can put it on a flash drive for you. I’ve got tons of free albums and early releases for my work.” The young girl smiled her appreciation and then glanced smugly up at her father. Marcus and Adrian exchanged a look and started chuckling, both guessing that Chloe had just silently added a laptop and Iphone to her growing list of things Oliver would have to buy her in exchange for playing muggle for a few hours.

~~~~

After dinner, Nora and Katie were busy working on the dishes when Wood and Marcus took Adrian aside while the teens were in Nora’s office. Katie kept glancing down the hallway, a worried look on her face. Truth be told, Marcus was wondering if it was such a good idea to let three underage wizards play around with muggle electronics, though Oliver had said Chloe had some experience with them.

“What was that about?” Marcus asked. Adrian looked over at his cousin.

“Well, he wasn’t happy that I had introduced you two. Or that we were spending Christmas dinner with a room full of witches and wizards,” he said with a sigh. “He threatened to come over here.” Marcus’ eyes widened.

“To London?” he asked. Adrian nodded. “And do what exactly?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe finally tell her everything.”

“I’m surprised that she hadn’t caught on to anything,” Wood said. “I railed it into Chloe’s head not to mention magic or quidditch.” Adrian shook his head and watched Nora as she laughed at something Katie said. “Jeremy nearly gave it all away a few times there.”

“Sooner or later, she’s going to find out,” Adrian said.

“And she’s not going to be happy about all of us keeping secrets,” Marcus said.


	16. Chapter 16

A week later, Nora’s apartment was once again full to the brim with people. How she managed to pull off another party with the craziness of the holidays, Marcus wasn’t exactly sure, but there they all were, dressed to the nines as music filled the place and there seemed to be a never-ending supply of alcohol.

“How does she do it?” Katie asked, looking around. Most of the Christmas decorations had come down and instead there were lights strung up nearly everywhere with tons of black and gold.

“She gets up really early,” Marcus said.

“What’s more, how do you have the energy for all this?” Oliver asked, looking over at his old nemesis in awe. Marcus chuckled and shrugged.

“Not sure, but I suppose she brings it out of me somehow,” he said, looking over at Nora, who was chatting with some work colleagues. She was dressed in a fitted black dress that hit her about the knee and was completely backless, showing off the tattoo on her back as well as one that snaked up her ribcage on her left side.

“Merlin, she’s got more tattoos?” Oliver asked, his eyes widening. Marcus just chuckled again. “By the way, heard anything more from her father?” Marcus shook his head no.

“Well, Adrian’s said he’s had a few more phone calls, but they usually end up in shouting matches with one or the other hanging up without resolving anything. Nor’s not mentioned anything to me if he’s said anything to her,” he replied. Katie glanced over at him, slightly worried.

“How long you think things’ll last like this?” she asked. Marcus sighed.

“I suspect we’ll end up having to tell her sooner rather than later,” he said. “At least I hope so.”

“When Alicia said we were going to a New Year’s party at the flat of Marcus Flint’s muggle girlfriend, I thought she was pulling one on me,” a voice said from the group’s right. Marcus looked over and saw a grinning Lee Jordan walking up to them.

“I’m still full of surprises, it would seem,” he said, smiling at the man as he held his hand out. Lee looked at it a bit and then shrugged and accepted it. “Good to see you.”

“You too,” Lee replied, still seeming puzzled by the whole thing. He looked around the flat. “George is not going to believe this when I tell him.”

“Thought he and Angelina were going to come,” Marcus said, vaguely remembering Nora mention she had invited them as well.

“Nah, they prefer celebrating at the shop with the rest of the lot so they can shoot off his latest fireworks,” he replied. “Alicia and I’ll be heading there shortly after midnight. Not often you get George out of Diagon Alley.”

“It’s not so bad,” Oliver said. “Once you get used to it.”

“If it isn’t Lee Jordan! How are you, mate?” Adrian said, walking up with a grin and Laura not far behind.

“Good, the program’s doing well. How’s Puddlemere?” he asked, happy to see the tall player. Adrian shrugged.

“Still on break,” he said. “Let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Laura Levins. She’s a few years behind us at Hogwarts.” Laura shook the older man’s hand and smiled.

“A few? You lot were long gone by the time I got there,” she said, glancing at him. “Nora and I met in university and have been close ever since.” Lee nodded and looked around.

“Where is the lady of the hour? ‘Bout time I met this muggle that pulled Marcus out of Diagon Alley.”

“Again with the weird words,” Nora said, walking up and causing all of them to freeze. She smiled and held her hand out. “That would likely be me, unless you’re talking about someone else.” She glanced around the group as Lee grinned and enthusiastically shook her hand.

“I see how you managed to get ahold of that one,” he said with a wink as he motioned to Marcus. “Never thought Marcus was the type to go after babies, though.” Nora chuckled.

“I’m not as young as I look,” she said.

“Nora! There you are! I was looking for you. I guess you’ve met my husband, Lee,” Alicia said, rushing up.

“Ah, so that’s who you are,” she said. “Welcome to the party. Drinks and food are over there. Help yourself.” Lee smiled at her again and walked over to get him and Alicia drinks.

“This place looks great, though I suppose I should suspect nothing less from you,” Alicia said, smiling at Nora. The younger woman just shrugged as she stepped over to Marcus.

“I do have a reputation to uphold,” she said as he kissed her cheek.

“Eventually you must tire of it, though,” Katie said. “Hosting all these parties.”

“Never,” Nora said with a grin. “I like bringing people together.” Alicia chuckled as she glanced over at Marcus and Oliver. Nora did seem to have a knack for bringing people together, though she didn’t know the full extent of it just yet.

“Nora! There you are!” an older woman said, rushing up. Nora sighed and smiled, hearing the phrase for probably the 20th time that night alone. “This is lovely. I wish I could have made the Halloween party. Lucy kept on about it for weeks.”

“Everyone, this is my boss, Margaret Lane,” Nora said. “Margaret, this is my boyfriend Marcus Flint, my cousin Adrian Pucey, his girlfriend and my best friend Laura Levins, and good friends of ours Oliver Wood, Katie Monroe and Alicia Jordan. Her husband’s here too, but run off to get drinks.”

“My, it’s lovely to meet you all,” Margaret said, looking around the group. “Any of you work in media as well?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Nora said. “Adrian and Oliver are in professional sports, Katie’s a doctor, Laura works in publishing, Marcus is a lawyer and I’m so sorry, I never caught what you did, Alicia.”

“Government,” she said quickly. “Just a regular, boring desk job, I’m afraid.”

“So, no one else has the joy of working in media with me,” Nora finished up.

“Oh, but we do reap the benefits of Nora working in it,” Laura said, grinning. Margaret chuckled.

“I take it most of your free tickets go to this lot,” she said.

“Marcus, more often than not,” Nora said, looking up at him with a smile.

“And you’re a lawyer? That must keep you busy,” Margaret said as she looked between the two with a knowing smile.

“Ehm, no more than most,” he replied, taking a drink.

“Well, seems like you’ve got yourself a nice catch, Nora,” Margaret said. “Oh, and just wanted to tell you that we’ve okayed the Glastonbury spread. I like your angle on that feature. We needed something new with it. Good work.” She then waved and wander off to another group of Nora’s co-workers.

“Please, please tell me we’re going to Glastonbury this year,” Laura squealed as soon as she was out of earshot. Nora rolled her eyes.

“And here I thought I would take Marcus,” she said.

“No! It’ll be lost on him! You must take me! I’ve been wanting to go for ages and it’s so bloody difficult to get tickets!” Laura said, literally jumping up and down. Nora glanced up at Marcus.

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

“It’s quite fine of you to take Laura,” he said. Laura squealed again and started doing a little dance around Adrian.

“Good call. You’d spend the week mucking around in mud up to your knees,” Adrian said.

“It’s all part of the experience!” Nora said.

“No, thank you. Don’t envy you at all,” Adrian said. Nora just shook her head at her cousin.

“Nor… is that that indie band you’ve been talking about for ages?” Laura said suddenly, immediately halting her dance. Nora looked over.

“Oh good! I wasn’t sure if they’d make it!” she said, smiling. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She grabbed Laura and the two walked off.

“Okay, so what is Glastonbury?” Oliver asked.

“Music festival out in the country,” Adrian said.

“But what’s this about mud?” Marcus said. “She didn’t mention mud when she brought it up last time.”

“Turns into a giant mud pit every year. She’ll probably go through three pairs of Wellies for the week,” Adrian said.

“Maybe I’m not so sad about missing it,” Marcus said.

“So, there is something you can’t keep up with,” Oliver replied, grinning. Marcus chuckled.

“Having a younger girlfriend is fun, but I’m not sure I’d be up for that much adventure,” Marcus said.

~~~

Later that night just before midnight, Marcus found Nora wrapped up in a coat and standing out on the balcony by herself. He quickly grabbed his from her room and stepped out to join her, causing her to look back as he stepped out.

“Blimey, it’s cold enough to kill you,” he said as he shut the door behind him. She laughed softly and turned back to the street, watching as various folks shouted as they made their way down the normally quiet street.

“Just needed some air,” she said, as he stepped up and put an arm around her. She wasn’t very big and he worried she’d freeze to death or at the very least get sick. Gripping his wand in his pocket, he stealthy cast a warming charm around them. It wasn’t much – just enough to make sure they would be moderately comfortable without Nora wondering why.

“Enjoying the party?” he asked.

“Mmhmm,” she murmured.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, becoming slightly worried. It wasn’t like Nora to be down. Especially not at a party. She sighed heavily.

“Just… Dad called earlier. We got into a bit of a fight,” she said, still not looking at him. “I didn’t want to tell you about it, but seems I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“What was it about?” he asked. She glanced up at him.

“You,” she said. Marcus frowned slightly.

“Me?” he asked. She nodded.

“He wants me to stop dating you,” she said. “Ridiculous, I know. Christ, you’d think he’d forgotten I’ve been making my own decision about my life ages ago.”

“Why would he want you to stop seeing me?” Marcus asked.

“Said you were dangerous, which is just…makes absolutely no sense. My dad has been in the U.S. for 30 years, he’s never met you. I don’t even know where he gets it from,” she said. Marcus swallowed. He understood a bit where Frederick Pucey was coming from – back in the day it had been rather dangerous to be around his family. No doubt he only knew about the senior Flint’s past days as a Death Eater during the first war.

“Reckon it’s more to do with my father,” Marcus said finally. Nora looked at him, confused.

“Your father?” she asked. Marcus nodded slightly.

“Your father knew mine before he left and, well, my father was a bit of a brute back then,” Marcus said, hoping it would suffice as an explanation. Nora frowned.

“How so?” she asked.

“Let’s just say he wasn’t the sort you wanted to be around,” Marcus said. “There’re reasons I don’t associate with my family anymore and that’s one of them.” Nora nodded slowly.

“But you’re not like that,” she said. It wasn’t so much a question or her trying to convince herself of the statement. Marcus could hear the resolve in her voice. “I know you’re not.”

“I am nothing like my father, of that I can assure you,” Marcus said. “I’ve spent the past couple of decades trying to prove that I’m not like him.” Nora nodded and smiled.

“That’s good enough for me,” she said as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You are a good man, Marcus.”

“And what about your father?” he asked, still slightly worried.

“He’ll just have to deal with it,” she said.

“Oi, lovebirds! Get your arses in here! It’s nearly midnight!” Adrian shouted from the door. “Christ, it’s cold!” Nora laughed and started walking back in, pulling Marcus with her. Once inside, they quickly shed their coats and Laura handed them both glasses of champagne.

A countdown had started on TV.

“10! 9! 8! 7! 6!”

Marcus looked down at Nora, who seemed to have returned to her normal, cheerful self.

“5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Nora smiled up at him.

“Happy New Year, Nor,” he said softly.

“Happy New Year, Marcus,” she said before kissing him. Marcus vaguely registered a couple whistles around them, though he didn’t care. When he finally pulled back, he looked down and was reassured by what he saw in Nora’s eyes. Whatever her father had said to her, she still gazed up at him with love in her eyes.

“I love you, Nor.”

“Love you, too.”


	17. Chapter 17

As the weeks passed and turned into months and the weather started warming, Marcus started worrying slightly less about Nora’s father, however he was starting to get a bit anxious about how long they’d be able to keep the secret from her. Marcus was still doing well at keeping up appearances, though once the quidditch season had started up again after the winter break, Oliver let slip something about bludgers or quaffles nearly every other time they met up, earning him glares from Adrian, Katie and Marcus.

Even Laura – in all her years of keeping the secret – had forgotten she had left her wand in her purse once rather than the secret pocket in her jacket and nearly didn’t grab it from Nora in time before she reached in it to look for lip gloss.

Nora, for her part, never seemed to catch on to anything, which was a small miracle in and of itself. They continued to spend time with Wood, Katie, Adrian and Laura. Everyone had gotten good at hiding whatever surprise they had whenever they did muggle things like go to music bars or movies – though Laura and Adrian were long used to it. Marcus was surprised to find out that Nora had even gone out a couple times with just Katie, Angelina and Alicia, inviting them along with her to see a couple bands and get drinks after.

Marcus felt quite settled in his life with the non-magical woman. He would go to work in Diagon Alley and then spend most nights with Nora. He was spending less and less time in the wizarding world, which didn’t go unnoticed. He received more owls from his mother. At first, they were mostly scathing notes, asking how he could dare forsake his pureblood heritage for a squib he had only known several months. Then she resorted to pleading with him to come to tea so they could discuss it rationally after he had ignored her letters. He was half-surprised that she hadn’t sent any howlers.

He was more surprised that they hadn’t heard more from Nora’s father. While Nora continued in her usual communication with him, if he mentioned Marcus, she didn’t bring it up with him. Adrian said that the elder Pucey had taken to ignoring him, which didn’t bode well for Operation Tell Nora Everything. It was this very reason that Marcus found himself heading over to Adrian’s one afternoon before he met up with Nora, Katie and Oliver on another double date.

Marcus could hear Adrian shouting as he entered the flat. Once he stepped in, he saw the younger man pacing in front of the fireplace.

“I told you, she has a right to know! For Merlin’s sake, Marcus is practically living with her!” he shouted. Marcus stopped and wondered if he could make a quick exit. At that moment, Adrian looked up and saw him. “Marcus, help me talk some sense into him!” Marcus cleared his throat and walked over to the fireplace seeing the irate man’s face in the flames.

“Good evening, sir,” he said. Frederick Pucey glared at him, seeming as though he didn’t completely trust him, though the fact that he wasn’t openly hostile hopefully meant that the combined efforts of Adrian and Nora had convinced him that at least Marcus wasn’t dangerous.

“I take it you think that Nora should be informed of her heritage?” he asked as though it was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard.

“I do think she has the right to know,” he said. “She’s here. She interacts with the wizarding world on a daily basis. It's part of who she is. She should know.”

“Have either of you given a thought to what is best for Nora?” Frederick shouted.

“A fair bit more than you,” Adrian spat. Marcus shot him a look. From experience, antagonizing the man wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

“She’s wizardborn! And her mother and I have kept her from magic since she was born! How do you think she’s going to take that?” Frederick shouted.

“She won’t be happy with you, that’s for sure,” Adrian said with a snort.

“Or either of you,” Frederick shot back.

“Well that’s a risk we’re going to have to take,” Marcus said. “She deserves to know. And I’m not entirely convinced she’s completely without magic.”

“Oh, so you think we’re going to tell her and then you can march her down to Diagon Alley for a wand?” Frederick scoffed.

“That’s not what I meant,” Marcus said with a heavy sigh. Adrian studied him quietly.

“What did you mean?” the older man shouted. Marcus stared at his face in the flames a moment.

“It’s part of who she is,” Marcus said.

“And do you think your family is just going to accept her with open arms? I know them and how they are. Forget that she’s my daughter. How do you drink they’ll react when they find out she’s wizardborn?” Frederick responded.

“I don’t care what they think. I’ve already told them,” he said. “Last I checked I was practically disowned as it is.”

“And you think the rest of the wizarding world will be any better? Once they find out she can’t do magic… they’ll look down on her!” Frederick shouted.

“Nora can handle it!” Adrian shouted. “She’s not some… wilting flower that needs protecting. She’s made of stronger stuff.” Frederick sighed heavily.

“I’m just not sure, Adrian. We agreed not to tell her… And you were supposed to keep her away from the wizarding world,” Frederick said, sounding as though the fight was starting to leave him.

“It’s not so easy here,” Adrian said.

“Would have been if you weren’t so close to her,” Frederick replied.

“Honestly Uncle, it’s like we’re talking in circles here. You want me close to protect her but then you want me far away so she’s not too close to magic. We all knew this was going to happen one day,” Adrian said. “At least we’re not waiting until it’s too late.” Frederick sighed again.

“I have to think about this. It’s not just Nora we’re talking about… we’ll have to tell Eliza too,” he replied. “I’ll be in touch.” His face then disappeared from the flames.

“So, this is why you wanted me over?” Marcus asked.

“The old man just can’t get over the fact that Nora isn’t a little girl and he can’t protect her like he used to,” Adrian said, walking over to the liquor cabinet to pour them both a glass of whiskey. “Really, she should have been told ages ago.” He walked over and handed a glass to Marcus. “Now more than ever.”

“Why’s that?” Marcus asked before taking a drink.

“Because of you,” Adrian said bluntly. Marcus looked away. “Don’t lie to me, Marcus. You’re getting serious with her. You practically admitted a couple months ago that you’re thinking marriage already. If your relationship is going to work like I think it will, we need to tell her everything.”

“Now you agree with me,” Marcus said.

“I’ve wanted you two together since the first time I saw you two interact. You’re perfect for each other. She lightens you up and you mellow her out. Now to just get Uncle on board and everything will work out,” Adrian said.

“You’re forgetting that we have to tell her everything. That we’ve both been lying to her,” Marcus said.

“Minor details,” Adrian said. Marcus scoffed.

“Yes, telling a grown woman that her father, cousin and boyfriend have been lying to her - some of them her whole life - minor detail,” he said. “You know she’s going to blow up.”

“And then she’ll calm down and everything can progress as it’s supposed to,” Adrian said lightly. Marcus stared at him. Adrian sighed. “Do you want to be with her?”

“More than anything,” Marcus said.

“Then we have to tell her,” Adrian said. “With or without uncle.”

“Let’s give him a chance to come around. If I’m going to be a long-term part of Nora’s life, it won’t due to have him angry with me,” Marcus said.

~~~~

The day had arrived. Marcus and Adrian had waited a month and with no word from Frederick, they had decided they needed to tell Nora and set a date. Marcus fidgeted the whole way to Adrian’s flat, worried about how Nora would react.

“What’s gotten into you?” Nora asked, glancing at him as they made their way up the stairs.

“Nothing,” he said, smiling weakly. Nora laughed softly.

“Sure,” she said with small roll of her eyes. She stepped up to the door and pushed it open.

“Daddy? What are you doing here?” Nora said as she and Marcus walked in. Marcus gulped as a distinguished looking older man stood from the sofa. He had dark blonde hair that was peppered with gray and the same deep blue eyes as Nora. He smiled at his daughter as she ran over and hugged him, a look of genuine joy on her face. Frederick Pucey looked over her shoulder at the stunned Marcus, fixing him in a cold stare. Memories of their last conversation flinted through his mind as the realization hit him.

He was going to tell her. Adrian must have told him their plans and given him an ultimatum.

“Well, darling, I wanted to come visit,” he said smoothly, smiling down at her as she stepped back. She laughed.

“You could have called. I would have made dinner at my place,” she said. He placed his hand on her cheek, as his eyes took on a sad look. “Daddy… is something wrong?” She had seen that look before. It was the same look he had when he told her that her mother was sick. When he told her that her brother was in a coma.

“We need to talk,” he said. Immediately, Nora’s eyes filled with tears.

“Not again,” she whispered.

“I think you should sit,” he said. He looked over at Marcus. “You should be here for this,” he said a bit more coldly. Marcus swallowed and nodded, stepping over and sitting next to Nora on the sofa. Adrian walked in from the kitchen, his face grave, as he sat next to Nora’s father.

“You two are making me nervous,” she said. She reached over and grabbed Marcus’ hand, an action that didn’t go unseen by her father. Marcus grimaced slightly, not realizing how strong a grip Nora had when she was nervous.

“Darling… there’s really no way to get into this, but to start from the beginning, I suppose,” he said, with a sigh. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at Nora. She hadn’t seen him this worked up since her brother died.

“Just tell me that no one is dying,” Nora said. He smiled at her, though it still looked forlorn.

“No, no one is dying. No one is sick. It’s just… We’ve been… holding things back from you… since you were born,” he said. Nora cocked her head to the side.

“What do you mean? Like, you and mom?” she asked. He nodded slowly.

“And Adrian. And now Marcus,” he replied. Nora looked at her boyfriend, confused, then over to her cousin and finally back to her father.

“Am I… are you not my real father?” she asked quietly. Frederick rubbed his face, not sure how she jumped to that conclusion.

“I am your real father. And your mother… she was your real mother. Adrian is your real cousin… but… there is something about me, Adrian and Marcus that we’ve been… hiding from you,” he said. “Before I tell you, I want you to understand, we only hid this from you to protect you. When your mother and I left England, times were not safe. Not for people like your mother or people like myself who helped them. And they wouldn’t have been safe for you, your brother and your sister either.”

“People like mom?” Nora asked. Frederick stared at her a moment and then took a deep breath.

“Nora… there is another world… a world that we all belong to… one that you didn’t know exists because we hid it from you. A world with magic,” he said. Nora shook her head, confused.

“Magic? Like… pulling rabbits out of hats and shit?” she asked, dubiously. “Are you all in some magic club that I don’t know about? Oh, god, you’re in a cult.” He laughed softly.

“Not quite like that,” he said. He looked at Adrian, who pulled a long stick out of his pocket. Nora’s eyes went wide as she laughed nervously.

“A wand? Did you seriously just pull a wand out of your pocket?” she asked. The serious look on all three men’s faces stopped her mid-laugh. Adrian waved his wand and a bottle of whisky and four glasses zipped over to the table. Nora’s eyes went wide as she looked at the glasses and then over towards the kitchen where they came from.

“That was… strings right?” she said. "Some sort of practical effect, yea?"

“No, cuz. That was magic,” he said pouring whisky into the glasses. Nora pulled her hand from Marcus and covered her mouth, silently watching him.

“I come from a family of pureblood wizards. A long time ago… there was a belief that purebloods were the… top of the food chain, so to speak. And there were some who… thought that those who possess magic but were not born into these families should not be allowed to practice magic… Some thought they should not live,” her father said. Nora just stared at him.

“One such wizard was a man name Voldemort. In the 70s, he gained an extreme amount of power and gathered many followers. Our family - the Puceys - sided with the Dark Lord, though not completely outright. But I didn’t agree. The political thought at the time, well, it didn’t set right with me. At that point, I had met your mother and fallen in love. Your mother was non-magical… what we call muggle,” he continued.

“It wasn’t safe for her. Or for people who were magical with non-magical parents - called muggleborn. Anyone who would dare to stand against them. People were disappearing and dying left and right. Your mother and I knew that any children of ours would never be safe in that world - that she wouldn't be safe. And I knew that my family would never accept me being with your mother… so we escaped to the U.S. Shortly after, Voldemort was defeated. We considered coming back… but then you were born and your sister. When neither of you showed any signs of magic, well, we felt it best to stay. Your mother’s parents moved there to be close to us as well,” he said. He paused.

Nora took a deep breath, staring at her father, unable to speak.

“And then your brother was born and he was the same… People in our world… they didn’t… they don’t see people born from magical parents without magic in the same way. We didn’t want any of you to think that you were anything less than wonderful, so we decided not to tell you and to keep you from the wizarding world,” he said.

“What do they call us?” Nora asked suddenly, looking down at the table.

“What?” her father asked.

“I assume there is a name. There is always a name. What is it?” she asked.

“Squib,” Adrian said. Marcus shot him a look. Nora closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths.

“The proper term is wizardborn,” her father said, shooting a look at Adrian. “But yes… the not so formal nomenclature is squib.”

“So the school you keep talking about… it wasn’t a normal boarding school?” she asked, keeping her eyes closed.

“No… it was a wizarding school. Called Hogwarts. All three of us went,” Adrian said. Nora opened her eyes and stood abruptly, stepping over Marcus, who seemed to have lost his ability to speak. She began pacing.

“So… you three are… wizards,” she said calmly, glancing at them. They nodded. “And our whole family - on your side at least - are wizards?”

“And witches,” Adrian said. “That’s what we call the woman.” Nora stopped and glanced at him then continued pacing.

“Before I was born, there was a… war?” she asked, glancing at them again. “A man - wizard - wanted to kill all the people with non-magical blood?” They nodded again. “You and mom escaped. Had us. We didn’t have magic, so you decided the best thing to do was to pretend that magic never existed?” Her father nodded.

“The thing is, Nor, he came back,” Adrian said. “About a year after Marcus and I graduated… he returned. Voldemort. And there was another war. It ended in 1998 after a final battle at our school. A lot of people were hurt or killed.”

Nora stopped pacing and just stared at all of them a few moments without speaking.

“So… the danger has been gone since 1998… nearly 20 years… and in all that time, none of you thought it was important to tell me or Eliza or David that this entire other world that you’re a part of - that we're apparently a part of - existed?” she said. “That there were two fucking wars that you escaped from? Is that why you kept your family away from us? Were you even disowned?”

“That is true,” Adrian said. “They disowned your father after he left. Called him a blood traitor. I was disowned when I was 17 after I stood up for my friends who were muggleborn to my father.”

Nora took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Marcus was frozen, sensing what was coming. He knew Nora well enough by now that he knew this was just the calm before the storm. He glanced over at her father and Adrian. They were also steeling themselves for what was sure to be an explosion.

“What the actual fuck?!” she yelled, her eyes flashing open. “Seriously?! I’m supposed to believe all of this just because Adrian performed some parlor trick?! Are you all high or something? Or is this some sort of massive prank?” It was clear that she didn't want to believe them for some reason.

“It’s true,” Marcus said quietly. He pulled out his wand from his coat pocket and stood. He closed his eyes and apparated to Nora’s apartment. He looked around, seeing her favorite book sitting on the coffee table. He grabbed it and then apparated back to Adrian’s apartment with a loud pop. Nora stood, eyes wide and unable to speak. Marcus quietly walked over and handed her the book, then stepped back. Nora looked at it, recognizing it as her copy of the first book in the Outlander series. She quietly opened it, seeing the handwritten note inside from the author.

She gasped and looked up at him, then over at her cousin and father, the book falling with a thud to the floor, the truth finally sinking in.

"It's real?" she whispered, completely in shock. "Everything you just said... it's true..."

"Yes, it is," Marcus replied. She frowned as she studied him and then looked to Adrian and her father.

“So, this whole time… you’ve been lying to me?” she asked. Her father stood.

“We only did it to protect you, darling,” he said, walking towards her.

“And mom knew?” she asked, her voice starting to raise.

“Yes, she did. She agreed that we should… keep the wizarding world secret from you,” he said. Tears sprung up in her eyes as she took a shaky breath.

“It was all a lie,” she whispered. She closed her eyes momentarily before they flew open and she glared at the three men before her. “My whole fucking life is a lie!” she shouted. “Jesus fucking Christ, how could you keep something this big from me?!”

“It’s not all a lie, Nora,” Adrian said. “More like… we had to tell you half-truths. Keep certain things away from you.”

“Are you even a football coach?” she asked, glaring at him.

“No… I used to play a wizarding sport called quidditch. Oliver and I played together and he hired me after he became coach of our team after I finally retired,” he said. She looked at Marcus.

“Are you a lawyer?” she asked. He nodded.

“I am. Everything I told you about my work is true. It’s a bit different than the muggle world. And I live and work in the wizarding world… a place called Diagon Alley,” he said softly, looking up at her.

“That’s why I could never go to your place,” Nora said, putting two and two together. He nodded.

“There was no way to take you there without you knowing,” he said. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she looked at her cousin and father.

“I’m 33 fucking years old, and you decide that now is a good time to tell me all this?” she said. “Why now? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“As I said, your mother and I didn’t want you to know,” her father said. “We thought we were saving you from… ridicule or prejudice… by keeping you away. But… when you got close to Marcus… there was no way we could hide it from you anymore.” Nora looked at Marcus, then back at her father.

“How could you?” she asked. “How could you keep this from me? From Eliza? From…” she stopped as a garbled sob broke loose from her lips. “From David.”

“Nora… we thought we were protecting you,” her father said. “That’s all we wanted to do.” Nora shook her head.

“Right, because we’re defective. So, you didn’t want us to be judged. Or maybe you were just ashamed of us,” she shouted.

“Nora Marianne, that is not why we didn’t tell you,” her father shouted back. “That would never be why we didn’t tell you. You are not defective… you’re just different. And I could never be ashamed of you. In fact, I couldn't be more proud of you.” Nora was starting to look more and more overwhelmed with each word. She finally shouted in frustration.

“I… I gotta get out of here,” she said, walking towards the door. “Don’t follow me.” She stepped out, slamming the door behind her.

Silence filled the apartment.

“Well… I suppose that could have gone worse,” Adrian said, sipping from his glass. Frederick and Marcus gaped at him.

“She just stormed out of here in a rage,” Marcus said.

“She’ll fume for a few hours and then she’ll see sense and come back to talk. She has too many questions to stay away and she never could stay angry for long. Her curiosity will win out in the end,” Adrian replied.

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t meddled,” Frederick said, glaring at Adrian and Marcus.

“With all due respect, sir, she had a right to know about who she is,” Marcus growled. Frederick turned his glare to Adrian.

“And what were you thinking? Pushing her together with a wizard?! A pureblood! Knowing what she is!” he shouted.

“She moved here of her own free will, Uncle. She was going to bloody run into the wizarding world at some point, with or without my help,” Adrian said. “It’s in her blood. You can’t deny that it hasn’t called to her - squib or not.”

“I WILL NOT HAVE YOU CALL MY DAUGHTER A DAMN SQUIB!” Frederick yelled. Adrian stared at his uncle and then set his glass down on the table and stood.

“Squib, wizardborn, call it what you want. But there is some magic running through her veins and it calls to her. Why do you think she was always reading those fantasy novels of hers? Why do you think she was drawn to music and writing? The most magical thing in the muggle world. That friend of hers growing up that was a witch - Marjorie? Why do you think she was drawn to her? To me? Even more than muggles. For Christ’s sake, even her best friend from university is a witch. Not to mention, how many times did she get close to it and you made it disappear?” Adrian shouted, getting into the older man’s face. Marcus sat back, watching the them. He didn’t feel it his place to step into this portion of the argument.

“Do you know how many times she contacted me, talking about how she didn’t fit in? How she saw things differently than everyone else. How she saw and heard things that others didn’t? How she connected with music on a deeper level than anyone else around her? The other kids attacked her in school relentlessly because of the things she saw and felt and thought. So much so, that she eventually stopped talking about them... And then, I had to watch as she fought to push all of that down inside her because she was afraid to tell you and she was afraid to be different... And I couldn’t tell her anything,” he said. “Thank Merlin she came here for university, because at least then I was nearby and could help her see that it didn’t make her odd. It was a part of who she is. That whole confident, fearless Nora that we all love, that was because she finally accepted who she was without you stopping her. Even if she didn’t know the full truth.”

Frederick covered his mouth with his hand and moved to sit on the sofa. He rubbed his face.

“She never told me…” he murmured. “I never knew…”

“Have you ever thought that maybe she had magic all along, but your desire to keep her from this world suppressed it?” Adrian said, looking at him. Frederick looked up.

“But… she never… there were never any signs as a child. There was no accidental magic,” he said. “No letter from Ilvermorny. If she had got one, we would have sent her. Told her everything. We had agreed that if our children had magic - which we were so sure they would - we would raise them in the magical world...” Adrian sighed and sat down next to him on the sofa.

“Then maybe she’s not a witch and it was repressed… but there is something there,” he said. “Enough to show me that she belongs here. She belongs in the wizarding world as much as she does the muggle world. I think, Uncle, that you may have underestimated her. She can handle it. She always could.”

“I feel I’ve made a grave mistake keeping this from her all these years… her sister too,” Frederick finally said. “Did Eliza ever say anything to you?” Adrian shook his head no.

“But David… he did,” he said quietly. Marcus sat up. Nora rarely spoke of her younger brother, outside of that night they got drunk at her hotel. “He… felt it. The magic. I tried to help him, but… he died before we had the chance to explore it. It came a bit late, but it was there.”

Frederick took a deep shaky breath.

“Merlin, what have I done?” he said to himself. Marcus shifted uncomfortably as the older man began to weep. “What have I done?”


	18. Chapter 18

Marcus stood at Nora’s door. He lifted his hand to knock but wasn’t sure if she would actually answer after the outburst at Adrian’s flat. He imagined her head was reeling from the onslaught of information. Finding out your parents had lied to you for your whole life and that there was a whole other world that you belonged to - then finding out your cousin and boyfriend were complicit in the lie - it was enough to throw anyone over the edge.

But he was concerned. And he needed to tell her his side. He hated that he had just sat there silently and let her run out. He was supposed to be there for her. And he knew that he couldn’t stand to go back to his old life without her. Not only that, she needed to go back to her father. She needed to hear what Adrian and Frederick had discussed.

He knocked and waited. Nothing happened. He knocked again and waited. Still nothing. Maybe she wasn’t even there. He decided to just go in and wait for her. Taking his wand out, he glanced around, making sure no one was there then whispered “Alohamora” under his breath. Hearing the lock slide open, he opened the door and stepped in, shutting the door behind him as he walked down the corridor to the living room.

Nora looked up at him from the loveseat as he walked in. An open bottle of whisky sat in front of her. She was sitting crossed legged, hunched over, with a glass in her hands. She didn’t look too surprised to see him there, but she didn’t look particularly thrilled.

“What are you doing here?” she asked flatly.

“I was worried,” he said, crossing most of the large room towards her but stopped halfway there. She laughed, but it wasn’t her usual light laughter. This was darker.

“You were worried? That’s rich,” she said before taking a large gulp from her glass. “Did Dad and Adrian send you?”

“No… I came on my own,” he said. Nora looked at his wand, still in his hand.

“I take it you used magic to get into my apartment,” she said, looking back up to his eyes. He nodded silently. Cautiously, he took a step forward.

“Nor, you have to understand… I wanted to tell you everything. From the first moment I met you, I didn’t want to hide anything from you. Including magic,” he said. “But Adrian warned me not to. There are… rules… We’re not supposed to tell muggles…”

“But I’m not really a ‘muggle,’ am I?” she venomously, unfolding her legs and standing. “I’m a… squib. I have a magical parent, but I can’t do magic. Defective. Though I suppose I shouldn’t be that upset considering I’ve gone my entire life thinking that magic didn’t exist.” She started pacing in front of the windows.

“You’re not defective,” Marcus said earnestly, taking another step towards her. He wanted nothing more than to run to her, take her in his arms and assure her that she was far from defective.

“That’s beside the point… There was no reason to keep this from me,” she shouted.

“It wasn’t safe-”

“But that was, what? Before I was born? And then the last war was over nearly 20 years ago. There was no reason for you to keep this from me, whatever my father said!” she shouted, glaring at him. “How am I supposed to trust the man I love if he’s lying to me?!”

Marcus was silent. He knew this wouldn’t work. He had urged Adrian to come clean about everything, but he had insisted on keeping the secret - and that everyone else should - in order to respect her father’s wishes. But at the same time, he didn’t want to give up.

“You’re right,” he said. Nora looked shocked to see him agreeing with her. She stopped pacing and looked down at the floor, chewing on her lower lip.

“Was it all a lie?” she asked softly before looking back up at him, her eyes tearing up. “Was everything a lie?” Marcus sighed and walked over to the loveseat, sitting. He rubbed his face and then waved his wand, calling another glass over to the table from the kitchen. He poured whiskey into it and then took a drink, too haggard to notice Nora jump slightly when the glass whisked across the room.

“No… it wasn’t. I kept things from you… but everything I feel for you is real. What we have - it’s all real,” he said, looking up at her. “I kept to the truth with everything as much as I could.”

“When you talked about your family… you meant they were purebloods,” she said. He nodded, not wanting to meet her eyes. But he knew the only chance he had at regaining her trust was to tell the entire truth.

“I come from a long time of purebloods – like Adrian and your father. I was sorted into Slytherin, a house at Hogwarts that was filled primarily of pureblood families. And lot of them sided with Voldemort. Mine did during the first war.”

Nora stood frozen.

“Your father was right in that there was a time where it wasn’t safe to be near my family. My father was a Death Eater during the first war - that’s what they called followers of Voldemort. While he renounced Voldemort before the second, my parents still believed in a lot of the pureblood philosophy. That half-borns and muggleborns - even muggles and wizardborn - were inferior to us. And for a long time, I believed that as well. Up until I graduated, anyway.”

He ventured a look at her, expecting to see disdain. Instead there was just confusion.

“That was ultimately the cause of my feud with Wood during school. He was Gryffindor - a different house known for bravery - and not a pureblood. I was angry that someone like him could be better than me at quidditch… Which was… looking back, it was incredibly stupid and immature of me. But, I wasn’t the best sort of bloke back then. It was actually Adrian who changed my mind, to be honest.”

“Adey?” she asked. He nodded.

“He was the only person in our house to stand up to me and call me out on my bullshit - which he did often. We were best friends, after all. We got into a right good fight once before Christmas break over it - I had called a girl he fancied mudblood.” Marcus grimaced. Nora didn’t know what it meant, but she could tell from his reaction that it wasn’t anything nice. “And then he came back for second term, saying he had been disowned and thrown out of his home because he stood up to his father over his response to some of his friends who were muggleborn,” Marcus said. “It… impressed me. That someone could stick to believing in something so much - stand up for others like that - they would gladly take being disowned. He also seemed… freer… when he came back. Happier.”

“That was when he came to us,” Nora said. Marcus looked back up at her. “I was 7, but he came to us during the winter break saying he’d been thrown out. He even stayed part of the following summer with us.” Marcus nodded and looked back in front of him.

“When that happened, I apologized for the fight. And… I listened to what he had to say. I started to realize that he was right… the whole pureblood agenda was a farce and bullshit, but…”

“You still had rules to follow or else you’d be kicked out of your family too,” Nora finished for him. Marcus nodded.

“I was too much of a coward then… and perhaps too greedy… to stand up to my parents. So I settled into living the life expected of me. After I graduated I went to work for my father and he began training me to take over the family business,” he said. “And then Voldemort came back and everything changed.”

Nora took a cautious step towards him, hesitating. She was torn. She wanted to sit next to him, comfort him. But at the same time the pain from his betrayal was still too raw. So instead she just stood there, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I joined up with Adrian and we did what we could to help muggleborns and half-bloods. I had to do it in secret. But I was able to draw up documents so that people could go live and work in other countries. When Voldemort attacked Hogwarts, we went and we fought against him,” he said. “In my mind, it still didn’t completely undo all the bad I had done up to that point, but I knew I had to do something.”

“You… you were in the war?” Nora asked. “You fought?”

“Yea… it was… it took me a long time to get over that. I lost friends on both sides. Oliver, Katie, Angelina and Alicia were there too,” he said. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “But then it was over and we started to rebuild. And once again, I was expected to uphold the family name and do my pureblood duty. I met a pureblood woman, thought I was in love and married her. The first few years were alright, but then… I started wanting to break away from my family and its reputation. I didn’t want to go to all the pureblood events. I wanted to start my own practice. I wanted to live a… less formal life. She didn’t agree. We grew apart. And she found solace elsewhere. Normally, one would just… put up with it. As long as the dalliances didn’t attract attention - and Pansy was discreet - you stayed together. Most marriages in that circle weren’t love matches anyway. But… I was tired of trying to fit that mold… so I asked for a divorce. And she agreed.”

“Is… is divorce something you don’t do in the wizarding world?” Nora asked. Marcus looked up at her again, noticing she had moved a few steps closer. He laughed haggardly.

“It is something to be avoided at all costs. When I divorced, it brought shame to the Flint name. My father hasn’t spoken to me since. My mother despises what I did, though she’s made attempts to keep in touch. Granted, I’m still not particularly welcomed home. Even among the muggleborns and rest… it’s frowned upon. But… I wanted to be happy. And I knew I could never be happy with Pansy,” he said. He took another deep breath and looked Nora in the eye.

“I didn’t think I could find true happiness… and then I met you.”

Tears slowly trekked down her cheeks as she stared at him with her unfathomable blue eyes. For once, her emotions were not written plainly on her face and he didn’t know what she was thinking.

“I told my family about you a couple months ago. They told me if I continued seeing you, I would be disowned. I - in no uncertain terms - told them to fuck off.”

Nora took a deep breath, still not speaking, though her eyes widened.

“You did that, for me?” she asked softly. He nodded.

“You have to believe me - I never wanted to hide things from you,” he continued. “I wanted to share everything. I was afraid, yes. I worried once you found out who I had been, you’d never want to speak to me again. But I just… I felt that with you, for the first time, I could be me.”

Nora swallowed. She took a breath and looked away.

“But… I’m just… This is all so overwhelming,” she said, running her hands through her hair. She glanced over at him. “Though, it’s kind of amazing as well… You can do magic.” Marcus nodded.

“Honestly, it’s been hard hiding it from you. I grew up knowing nothing about the muggle world and using magic was like breathing,” he said with a soft laugh. Nora stared at him, her brow furrowed slightly. “What is is, Nor?”

“It’s just… compared to what you can do - what Adrian and my father can do - are you sure? About me? I’m… I’ll never fully fit into your world. Wouldn’t you be happier with someone who can?” she asked. Marcus jumped to his feet and ran to her, taking her face in his hands and gently turning her to face him.

“Everything I just told you, and that’s the part you’re hung up on? Nor, I don’t care. What you are, it doesn’t matter to me. Wherever you are, that feels like home to me,” he said, gently caressing her cheeks. “You are the single most amazing woman I have ever met. Everyone in the wizarding world tries to fit into one of four boxes that they are assigned at age 11. They’re either brave and reckless, or kind and loyal, or cunning and ambitious, or clever and wise. You, Nor… you don’t try to fit in. And you have everything… you’re brave, smart, kind, loyal, ambitious, clever. You are exactly what I’ve been looking for… what I needed…”

Nora leaned into his hand, the tears freely flowing.

“Most importantly, only you could see past my past,” he whispered.

“But… I don’t have magic…”

“You do,” he said, chuckling. “You have the ability to put everyone around you at ease. When you laugh, everyone wants to laugh as well, even if they don’t know what you’re laughing at. Within five minutes of meeting you, a person feels comfortable enough to share their entire life story. You do have magic… your own special kind.”

Nora laughed.

“Why is it you always know what to say?” she asked. “Marcus… I wish you could see what I see… you are all those things too. The man I see in front of me… is the only man I have ever been in love with. And the only man I want to be in love with.” Marcus grinned as he leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.

“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asked, stepping back for a moment. Nora gave him a look.

“Do you think I would be kissing you if I didn’t?” she asked. Marcus grinned and pulled her closer, kissing her again.

“Just promise me something,” she said, pushing back from him again.

“Anything.”

“No more secrets,” Nora said, looking up at him seriously. Marcus nodded.

“No more secrets.”

~~~~

Marcus convinced Nora to go back and talk to Adrian and her father. He apparated her there, which was a bit nauseating for her. Together, they sat down and spent most of the night - and a bottle of whisky - going through everything. Her experience in school growing up. What this possibly meant.

_“I don’t know if this means you have magic and it’s been suppressed… that usually only happens in obscurials, but that’s definitely not what you are… perhaps it was just… never fully formed,”_ her father had said. Nora seemed to accept this in stride. Much better than she had accepted her father’s revelations earlier.

Adrian had talked about David. How magic had started appearing in him later than normal. Nora broke into silent tears as she gently massaged the tattoo on her left arm. Marcus held her close, gently rubbing her back.

_“He never got the chance,”_ she had whispered.

They then discussed how to tell Eliza, Nora’s younger sister. Everyone present confirmed that she had never said anything about magic.

_“It’s probably best if I tell her,”_ her father said. Nora and Adrian agreed.

They then talked about everything from Hogwarts ( _“Wait… so a hat basically tells you who you are at age 11? That’s bizarre…”_ ), to Diagon Alley ( _“So when to I get to see this place?”_ ). By the end of the night, Nora and her father had made up. He told her over and over again how proud he was of her. And that he wished she had been comfortable enough to tell him about her struggles. She tearfully promised not to keep anything from him as long as he no longer kept anything from her.

Frederick grudgingly accepted that Nora and Marcus were now together, going so far as to thank him for being there for her and bringing her back. He could see that Marcus was nothing like his family. He also admitted that Marcus was right in that Nora needed to know. He retired to Adrian’s guest room for the night, too tired to make it to Nora’s place.

Once the bottle was gone and Adrian had dozed off on the other sofa, Nora stood and stretched.

“I suppose it’s time to go home,” she said, yawning. Marcus looked up at her.

“Would you… would you like to stay with me… at my place tonight?” he asked cautiously. Nora looked down at him.

“In Diagon Alley?” she asked. He nodded.

“It’s not directly on the Alley. Off it, but still close. Figure since you know now, there’s no reason why you can’t come over,” he said, standing. Nora smiled.

“I’d love to,” she said. Marcus grinned and wrapped his arm around her. He pulled his wand out and then thought about home. They disappeared with a pop and reappeared just outside his door. Nora kept her eyes closed a few moments, breathing slowly while the nausea passed. She then opened her eyes and smiled. He quickly tapped out a pattern on the door with his wand and then opened it, letting her in.

Nora stepped into the moonlight apartment and looked around. It wasn’t as opulent at Adrian’s, but still large. Mostly it was cozy, masculine and seemed very Marcus. He waved his wand and the apartment was suddenly lit up. She turned to look at him, a look of childlike delight on her face.

“Still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that magic exists,” she said, grinning. “It’s kind of like finding out all those books I read were true.” Marcus chuckled softly as he walked up and took her in his arms.

“Well… probably not completely true. We don’t have princes or princesses,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“Probably no dragons, either,” she replied. A look came over Marcus’ face. “No… seriously?”

“Yea, but most of them are on a reserve in Romania. Put them there to keep them safe… well, and muggles safe from them. There are a whole plethora of magical creatures,” he said. Nora shook her head and leaned it against Marcus’ chest.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this,” she murmured.

“You have time,” he said. “And I’ll help.” Nora looked up at him and smiled.

“You have to show me some of these creatures,” she said, the childlike glee back.

“Of course,” he replied. Nora looked around the room and then back at Marcus.

“Give me the tour?” she said. Marcus chuckled and looked around.

“Well, this is the living room,” he said. He walked over, leading Nora with him. “And the kitchen.” He led her down a corridor. “My office.” Nora looked inside, noting the large bookcases full of books and a large, dark wood desk. He pulled her down the hallway to another room. It lit up as they stepped in. “And finally… my room.” In the center was a large, four-postered bed with a navy blue comforter. She walked around, dragging her fingertips across the matching dark wood dresser. She stopped, gasping slightly as she looked at a photo.

“It moves,” she said softly, reaching out to touch it. In the photo was Marcus and Adrian on brooms, flying and laughing. He laughed softly as he moved to stand next to her.

“All wizarding photos move,” he said, kissing the side of her head. Nora turned around and faced him.

“I like it here,” she said.

“I like having you here,” he said. Nora glanced behind him towards the bed.

“Looks comfy,” she said, raising an eyebrow. Marcus laughed softly. He bent down and kissed Nora gently, then hoisted her up in his arms. Nora squealed. “I could get used to this.”

~~~

A bit later, when the two were lying comfortably in bed, Marcus looked down at Nora and took a deep breath.

“Why did you never tell me much about your brother?” he asked. Nora was silent a few moments before answering. She didn’t look at him, but he could see her struggle to speak.

“It’s just… it’s hard,” she finally said. “It’s not because I didn’t want to talk about him. He was… full of so much life and potential. But he was a lot younger than me so we never really got the chance to really know each other. Guess I felt that I didn’t have the right.”

Marcus shifted slightly and reached down to life Nora’s chin up so she was looking at him.

“You have every right to grieve or talk about him,” he said softly. “He obviously meant a lot to you. You can tell me. I’d… I’d like to hear about him.” Nora nodded and looked away, snuggling in closer to him.

“He was smart… and artistic. You think I’m good at guitar? This kid could make up songs on guitar and piano on a whim. His lyrics weren’t so bad either. He always made me laugh,” she said, a slight smile on her face. Then suddenly her expression darkened. “He took Mom’s cancer and death pretty hard. I always felt guilty that I wasn’t there for most of it and he was forced to live that.”

“That’s not your fault, Nor,” Marcus said softly. Nora sighed.

“But it kind of is. I could have gone home. I probably should have. But Mom was insistent on me staying and not giving up my job and dreams for her,” she said. “I did try to talk to him and reach out when I could. But… I often think it wasn’t enough.”

“There was no way you could know you would lose him when you did,” Marcus said. “Trust me… I’ve seen my share of loss with the war. Some of them, well I knew which side they would end up on, but… even then…” Nora looked up at him, her brow furrowed.

“I still don’t understand how you can be so normal after something like that,” she said. Marcus chuckled.

“It’s been nearly 20 years. You learn to adapt,” he said ruefully. Nora sat up and looked at him.

“Does it still bother you?” she asked. Marcus studied her a moment.

“What I experienced during the war… for the most part, I’ve dealt with it. But sometimes it does sneak up on me,” he admitted. “But I can’t imagine the loss you’ve been through. A mother and younger brother…” Nora looked away, but not before Marcus saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.

“I forget sometimes… I dream they’re still here and then I wake up and realize they’re gone. Or sometimes when something good happens, I reach for my phone and I’m about to dial Mom before I remember she’s not here,” she said softly. Marcus pulled her closed to him and kissed her head.

“I know that there’s no way to replace them or fill the void they’ve left, but… I’ll do the best I can to make sure you are happy and safe,” he whispered. He glanced down at her, noticing a faint smile on her lips. She was silent a few moments before she looked up at him.

“Well for starters you can tell me if unicorns are real and if so, prove it,” she said. Marcus laughed softly.

“They are real, but not sure if I can show you one - they are awfully hard to find,” he replied. Nora laughed. “But seriously, Nor, I care more about you than I have anyone. I’m here. You don’t have to carry everything on your own.” Nora sighed.

“Thank you, Marcus.”


	19. Chapter 19

Wood and Katie walked into Nora’s flat. She, Adrian and Marcus were seated on the sofa and loveseat, a bottle of wine on the table. Laura was surprisingly not there, though Nora said she had had a work thing come up. Neither Oliver nor Katie were sure why they were summoned so suddenly. Nora looked over at them and smiled.

“Come on in, guys,” she said.

“Let me get you glasses,” Adrian said with a grin. He pulled his wand out and two more glasses zipped across the room. Wood and Katie froze. Adrian was obviously enjoying using magic now that the cat was out of the bag. He had been using it for just about everything ever since the day of the big reveal.

“So, you told her?” Wood said, still frozen in place. Nora laughed.

“Honestly, looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t guess it. I take it the kids play quidditch, not football?” she said. Katie and Wood nodded silently. “Adrian says they call wizarding doctors healers, right?”

“Yes. I work at St. Mungo’s. It’s a wizarding hospital,” Katie said, finding her voice. She smiled and walked over, sitting next to Adrian. “How does it feel to be in on the big secret?”

“How does it feel to not have to hide it anymore?” Nora asked in reply as Wood made his way over.

“A relief, to be honest,” Katie said as Adrian poured her wine. “Probably more so for Marcus.”

“You’ve no idea,” he said.

“He’s gotten pretty good at maneuvering in the muggle world, I will say,” Adrian said. “In large part thanks to me.” Nora shook her head, laughing softly.

“I really have no idea how I didn’t catch on. I’m normally more observant,” she said.

“You’re only observant when you’re working, Nor,” Adrian said. “Not sure exactly how it is you can catch every little nuance of a song and yet couldn’t pick up that your cousin, father and boyfriend are all wizards.”

“So, who else?” Nora asked. “Since I know, who else in our group belongs in your world.”

“Blaise, the Higgs, Bletchelys and the Warringtons. Angelina and her husband - Alicia and hers,” Adrian listed.

“So, everyone?” Nora asked. She looked at Marcus. “That Malfoy lady. Narcissa. She is too?” Adrian, Wood and Katie all collectively gasped.

“Blimey, Nor. When did you run into a Malfoy?” Adrian asked, scowling.

“While we were coming home from Christmas shopping. On the street,” she said. “Why?”

“They aren’t necessarily the best of us to run into,” Wood said, frowning.

“And unfortunately they are our family,” Adrian said.

“How are we related?” Nora asked.

“Lucius, Narcissa’s husband, is cousins with our fathers,” he stated. “All part of the grand pureblood club.”

“They were on the wrong side in both wars,” Marcus added. “And their son was sniveling little git in school.” Wood snorted.

“You’re the one who put him on the house team,” he replied.

“Wasn’t keen on it. But you didn’t say no to the Malfoys back then,” Marcus said. “They had a bit more… power than my family.”

“Dare say they thought themselves better than the entire wizarding world. The Blacks included,” Adrian said. Nora looked at everyone, incredibly confused.

“Okay, so would someone please break all this down for me. I’ve known maybe three days that all of this even existed,” she said.

“Right then. So Uncle explained Voldemort and all that,” Adrian started. “The families that sided with him were all pureblood.”

“Got that. Ours – the Puceys. And your – the Flints. So also these Malfoys – who we’re related to,” Nora said. “And apparently a lot more than that.”

“That would be correct,” Marcus said. “Though it was less the second time around. After he was defeated the first time, they were a bit more hesitant to openly step forward. After seeing what happened to those who didn’t give up their loyalty. The ones who weren’t killed were put in Azkaban - a nasty prison.”

“How Malfoy escaped all that after the first war, I’ll never know,” Adrian said.

“How did the first war end?” Nora asked.

“There was this kid – Harry Potter. Voldemort tried to kill him. Couldn’t and ended up destroying himself,” Adrian said. “Didn’t you used to know him?” He looked at Wood.

“Yea, he was on my house team. Fine good seeker. Won us the cup my last year.”

“I remember that,” Katie said with a smile. “It was the last bit of good we had before it all went bad.”

“About two years after that, things started to get bad again. Voldemort came back a year after we graduated, but no one really believed he was back until another year later,” Adrian said. “Again, thanks to Harry.”

“Sounds like Superman,” Nora said, eyes wide.

“Something like that. Except without the flying and laser eyes,” Adrian said with a smirk. “Well, I suppose the flying bit - he was a demon on a broomstick back in the day.”

“Who’s Superman?” Wood asked. Marcus chuckled as Nora stared at him.

“Okay, now most things I can understand, but that? Really?” she exclaimed. “You, my friend, are getting a superhero education if we’re going to continue being friends.” Wood looked at Marcus.

“She’s already educated me, mate,” he said, chuckling. “Well, Adrian gave me the rundown in advance, but apparently Nor’s got a thing for superhero movies. Think she’s forced me to watch all the Marvel ones.” Nora nodded.

“Seems like I have a few things to teach you,” Nora said, grinning.

“Anyway, back to your education, Ms. Pucey,” Adrian said.

“Right, so this kid, Harry, finds out that bad V-Dude is back. But no one believes him until a year after the fact. Then what?” she asked. Katie laughed, choking on her wine a bit.

“Well, he managed to take over our government. They started passing all these laws to try and… well, to limit the power of muggleborns. It got to a point where it wasn’t safe for them… people were disappearing nearly every day,” Adrian said. “That’s where Marcus and I stepped in to help. He became pretty good at creating lineage documents. For those we couldn’t do that for, he put together travel documents. Sending people overseas or to other countries on work assignments and such.” Nora looked up at him, beaming in pride.

“You did that?” Katie asked. Marcus nodded, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“It was the least I could do,” he said.

“He helped a fair amount of our teammates get somewhere safe,” Adrian said.

“That was you?” Wood asked. Again, Marcus nodded. “I didn’t know that. I got some for my parents. My mum’s halfblood and I didn’t think it was safe for them.”

“How did they like France?” Marcus asked.

“Decent enough. They still go back every summer,” he said.

“So… things got really bad. And then what?” Nora asked, getting them back on track.

“Well, then there was a final battle at our old school. They all went there to find Harry and… everything ended when Harry defeated Voldemort,” Adrian said. Nora nodded.

“And you all were there?” she asked softly, looking around the room. They all silently nodded. Each seemed to be reliving their own memories.

“Marcus and I were together… it was tough. We were on opposite sides with some of our old friends,” Adrian said, this time lacking his usual vigor. Wood and Katie studied the two for a moment.

“I guess I never thought what it must have been like for you two,” Katie said softly.

“I took out Rickard Parkinson,” Marcus said softly. Wood stared at him, his mouth dropping open.

“Merlin. Did Pansy know?” he asked. Marcus shook his head no. “Killed your own brother-in-law…” Nora looked over at him, eyes wide.

“Seriously?” she asked, not sure how to react to the fact that he had killed someone.

“We weren’t involved at the time. She was still in school. I didn’t meet her again until a few years later. Decided best not to say anything. Besides, her family officially disowned him after the war when it came to light which side he was on.” Nora stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

“I feel like this conversation needs more than wine,” she said, walking back with a bottle of whiskey and flour glasses. “Unless someone is driving?” They all looked at each and laughed. “Right… no one in your world drives.” She sat down and put the bottle and glasses on the table.

“Our world,” Adrian corrected her. “Better get used to saying that. Because you’re part of it too now.” After pouring the whiskey and passing it around, Nora looked at them a moment.

“Is it wrong of me to be happy that I missed all this?” she asked.

“Be glad you did,” Katie said.

“I’m glad that you did. You wouldn’t have been safe,” Marcus said, turning serious. “Daughter of a blood traitor and wizardborn.”

“Sounds like a double whammy for V-dude,” Nora said before taking a large gulp of the whiskey. Marcus chuckled.

“Voldemort. It’s not that hard to say,” he replied.

“V-dude sounds better,” Nora said.

“V-dude sounds like some venereal disease,” Adrian said, rolling his eyes. Katie started giggling.

“So, the war ended and life went back to normal?” Nora asked.

“As best it could,” Katie said. “We all managed to move on. Rebuild. Start over.” Nora nodded.

“What was life like for you? In the States?” Wood asked. Nora shrugged.

“Normal. We had no idea any of this was going on. Obviously. No idea that magic existed. We met up for holidays. I stayed close to the family. Then came here for university and went on to travel,” she said.

“How is it we didn’t meet you back then?” Wood asked.

“Uncle Frederick still kept a close eye on her. He would have known if I introduced her to any magical folks or areas,” Adrian said. Nora stared at him.

“Really? God, sometimes Dad takes it too far,” she said.

“Thankfully you traveled around too much. Whatever charms he had in place wore off,” he replied. “But after you moved back to the States from Asia, he didn’t see a need for it anymore.”

“Why music?” Katie asked. Nora shrugged.

“It called to me, I guess you could say. I always loved it but was never that good at it. Plus Dad wasn’t too keen on me running off to play in a band. But I loved writing. So I found a way to combine my loves,” he said. Wood and Marcus shared a look that didn’t go unnoticed by Adrian.

“She’s being modest,” Adrian said. “Get your guitar, Nor.” Nora stared at her cousin.

“No, Adey,” she said.

“Come on. Just one song. Please?” he begged. Nora rolled her eyes and then stood up, walking into her office and then returning with the guitar in hand.

“What do you want to hear?” she asked, staring at him.

“How about that one you played for me before you moved here. ‘What If’?” Marcus said. Nora glanced at him and then got set up. She then started softly strumming. Immediately, a lull came over the room as she softly started singing. Marcus leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes as the music poured over him, putting him at ease. He took a deep breath and then looked over at Nora, watching her as she sang, her eyes seeming to look off somewhere else.

“And when I’m at the gates, you’re waiting. Whenever my soul needs saving, you’re the only one I’m praying to,” she crooned.

After she had finished, it took Marcus a few blinks to come to. He glanced around the room, noticing everyone had similar reactions. He covered his laugh and looked away, catching Wood and Katie staring into each other’s eyes, their lips incredibly close. Wood quickly sat back and cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening as Katie reached for her glass.

“I don’t know how I never noticed,” Adrian said softly.

“Noticed what? What’s wrong with you guys,” Nora said.

“I caught on that first time she played,” Marcus said.

“And I felt it that night you two played right after she moved in,” Wood replied.

“That’s amazing,” Katie said. Nora looked at all of them in confusion. “I felt… it was like falling in love.”

“Nora, I think maybe your magic just… came about differently,” Adrian said. “But I definitely think you’ve got something there.” She stared at him a bit dubiously.

“So… I create magic when I play music?” she asked sarcastically.

“I think you do. I think it’s what makes you so good at writing too,” Marcus said, pulling her closer to him and kissing her cheek.

“See. You are one of us,” Wood said, grinning as he slid an arm around Katie.

“Does this mean I get a wand?” Nora asked, causing the group to laugh.

“Let’s not go that far,” Adrian said.

“Well, crap,” Nora said, pouting. “Here I was hoping to make things fly across the room and shit.”

“That’s why you have me and Marcus,” Adrian said. She looked at Marcus.

“You’re in charge of dishes from here out,” she said. “That was just… amazing.” Adrian chuckled.

“If that’s what it takes to impress you, well, I’m sure Marcus has much, much more to show you,” he said grinning.

“Shut up, Pucey,” Marcus said, rolling his eyes. Nora started laughing hysterically.

“So, when are these two taking you to the Alley?” Katie asked once they had all calmed down. Nora shrugged.

“Dunno. I’ve been to Marcus’ place but he’s yet to show me around outside. When?” she asked looking at the two men.

“Definitely think we should have Uncle there with us,” Adrian said.

“How about this weekend?” Marcus asked. Nora smiled and nodded.

“It’s a date.”


	20. Chapter 20

Nora took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Are you sure, dear? If you’re not ready for this, we can wait,” her father said from behind her. She stared at the brick wall in front of her and shook her head no.

“I got this,” she said as Marcus squeezed her hand. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming. She had just found out last week that her father, cousin and boyfriend were all wizards. And that she was a small part of a world that she had no idea existed. Granted, she couldn’t do magic, her father insisted that as his daughter - and a Pucey - she was just as much a part of this world as anyone else, no matter what anyone may say.

Marcus then offered to go after anyone who dared berate her for being a squib. While she appreciated the sentiment, she told him it wasn’t necessary.

In a way, she was now glad that he had finally told her. She had always felt that there was something different about herself. She had always seen things differently than everyone else. And now it made sense.

“Don’t worry, Nor, we’re here with you,” Adrian said. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. She turned back to the wall.

“Let’s do this shit,” she said with a smile. Marcus laughed and tapped his wand on some of the bricks. While he had started doing small magic around her, it still took her breath away to see the bricks move themselves and create a doorway.

“Where she gets that mouth, I’ll never know,” her father muttered behind her. Nora laughed as Marcus lead her through and into Diagon Alley. Her eyes lit up as she silently took in everything around her. It was more than her wildest dreams.

“Holy shit,” she whispered as she saw the crowds of people bustling through the narrow street - some in odd clothing while others were in more normal street wear. Marcus laughed, loving the look of intense joy on her face.

They wandered down the street, with Nora peering into nearly every shop window. Marcus held her hand in a firm grip, partly to reassure her and partly to make sure she didn’t wander off alone. While her pink hair was hard to miss on normal streets, here it would help her blend into the crowd. She was so entranced with everything that she didn’t notice the looks their small group got. While Marcus and Adrian were fairly familiar faces around the area, her father garnered extra attention. Nora did as well, favoring her father. The people meandering around were curious about the sudden reappearance of Frederick Pucey and the young woman who looked a lot like him.

Things were actually going remarkably well minus the occasional stare or whisper. Nora looked up at Marcus, her face bright with excitement.

“This is so much better than your stories!” she exclaimed, unable to keep her voice down. Marcus laughed and pulled her close.

“I knew you’d love it,” he said, pecking her on the lips. “Is there any shop you want to go in?” He had a slight surge of pride, showing her around his world.

“Is that a bookstore?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“I knew you’d pick that one first,” Marcus said, jokingly.

“Grew up with her nose in a book,” Frederick said.

After Nora had spent nearly an hour going through the shelves, they left with two bags full of books. She had insisted that she didn’t have to get all of them, but Marcus and Adrian couldn’t help but treat her. They continued down the lane when they came to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“Wait… so this is the game you two play,” she said, stopping.

“That would be it,” Adrian said. “And I’m proud to say that your dear cousin was a quite famous player.” Nora looked at him dubiously.

“Right,” she said.

“He’s actually right… Puddlemere has been one of the top teams in the League for years. Both when he was playing and after he became a coach,” Marcus said. Nora swung her head around to look at him.

“Really?” she asked.

“Come on, cuz. In honor of your first trip to Diagon Alley, I’m buying you a Puddlemere jersey. I’m sure Marcus here will take you to games soon enough,” Adrian said, dragging her into the shop. Once inside, she looked around not sure what to think of the wall full of brooms.

“This is interesting,” she said.

“Once we take you to a match, I assure you, you’ll love it. It’s a bit more… exciting… than baseball,” Marcus said, looking down at her. Nora shrugged.

“Nor! Over here!” Adrian shouted. Nora walked over to a corner full of various colored shirts. Adrian was rifling through a rack of navy blue jerseys.

“Haven’t you been retired a few years? They wouldn’t still have yours, would they?” she asked, walked up to him.

“Adrian Pucey! My word!” an elderly witch who seemed to be the shopkeeper said as she walked up. Adrian smiled at her, turning on the charm.

“Hello, Mrs. Finn. How lovely to see you,” he said. She blushed slightly.

“What brings you in today? We usually send the equipment orders straight to the stadium,” she said.

“Ah, yes. Well… this is my lovely cousin, Nora Pucey, from America. She just moved here and I’m looking to get her a Puddlemere United jersey that she can wear to games,” he said. The woman turned and looked at Nora, noting a hint of familiarity. She then caught sight of her father standing slightly behind Nora.

“My stars… Frederick Pucey’s daughter is it? How lovely to meet you, my dear,” she said warmly holding her hand out. Nora shook it.

“It’s very nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Finn,” she said. Marcus stared in shock at his girlfriend, not knowing such polite charm existed in her. Adrian smirked at him.

“Well… I do have a couple vintage Pucey jerseys in the back. I think that should do nicely,” the witch said before bustling off.

“Dad… does everyone know you?” Nora asked, turning to look at him. He shrugged.

“I thought I’d be long forgotten by now,” he said. Nora felt Adrian shift behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at him and then back at her father. She sent him a look that said they would discuss this later.

About that time, Mrs. Finn returned from the back, holding out a jersey.

“Here we are, love,” she said, grinning. She held it up to Nora. “Ah, it’ll fit like a glove.” She turned it around to show the name Pucey prominently displayed on the back along with his old number. Nora laughed.

“It’s perfect,” she said.

After Adrian had purchased the jersey they were back out on the street walking when Nora’s eyes fell on a store sitting on a corner with a giant, mechanical man outside, tipping his hat to the crowd.

“What the hell is that?” she asked, stopping.

“That… would be a joke shop,” Adrian said. Marcus shifted slightly uncomfortably, hoping she wouldn’t want to go in. Nora looked up at him grinning.

“Let’s go,” she said, pulling him towards it. Marcus cursed his girlfriend’s childlike curiosity.

Once they stepped inside, Nora stopped, speechless at the wonderful chaos.

“Ah, a first time customer, I see,” a grinning red-headed man in a brightly colored suit said, walking up to them. Nora looked at him, still in awe. His grin slowly faded as he saw who was standing behind her.

“Flint… wouldn’t have expected to see you here,” he said, frowning slightly. “Did you finally develop a sense of humor?”

“Long time, no see, Weasley,” Flint said, nodding, conveniently ignoring George’s last statement. Nora looked back and forth between the two. She sensed this was more of the house rivalry at play. Both Adrian and Marcus had given her the full rundown of Slytherin and Gryffindor and just why they seemed to never get along. Marcus cleared his throat and glanced at Nora, smiling slightly. “Let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Nora Pucey.” Weasley looked back at Nora, taking in her pink hair and tattoos. He smiled and glanced up at Flint, surprised to see that the obviously free-spirited woman was his girlfriend.

“Pucey? Ah, so I’m finally meeting the famous Nora that my wife is always running off to,” he said with a grin as he held his hand out to her. “George Weasley. Apologies that we’re just now meeting. I don’t often leave the wizarding world.”

“So you’re Angelina’s husband,” Nora said, starting to smile as she shook his hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” George grinned and nodded.

“And you’re Adrian’s cousin from America, meaning your father is Frederick Pucey,” he replied. He looked passed Marcus and saw Nora’s dad perusing a display. His eyes widened. He walked up to him, a smile on his face. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. George Weasley.” Nora’s father looked at him, taking in his bright red hair. He smiled as he seemed to remember something.

“Weasley? George? Merlin… You were just a tot the last I saw you. Even then you were getting into trouble with your brother,” he said warmly. He looked around. “Speaking of which, where is your brother? Fred?” Adrian and Marcus stiffened as Nora watched in confusion.

“Ah, yes… he, ah, died… during the second war,” George said. Frederick’s face fell.

“Oh… I’m so sorry,” he said.

“It’s quite alright, sir. My family… we’re very grateful for your help back then,” George said solemnly. “I know Mum and Dad would be anxious to meet with you, now that you’re back. I can have them owl you, if you’d like.”

“I would very much like to see them. Though… I’m currently staying with my daughter in muggle London, so not sure how well an owl would work,” he said.

“Should work just fine. All I need is an address,” he said. Frederick smiled.

“Oh, good. If you have spare parchment, I can write it down,” he said.

“Better yet, we’re all having lunch at the Burrow this Sunday. You should come with Nora and Adrian. Might even let Flint join if he promises to behave,” George replied, winking at Nora. She laughed softly and looked up at her boyfriend, who was rolling his eyes.

“Come off it, Weasley. It’s been over 20 years,” Marcus said.

“If it helps, he’s pretty much been disowned as well,” Adrian chimed in. Marcus glared at him. “What? Thought it was obvious with you trapezing around Diagon Alley with a blood traitor’s daughter on your arm.” George seemed to look at Marcus in a new light. He grinned and started laughing.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” he said. He walked over and slapped Flint on the shoulder. “You’re now one of us, Flint.”

George then looked at her and stepped over, taking her arm.

“Seeing as this is your first time here, allow me to give you a tour of the shop,” he said, leading her away.

“Weasley,” Marcus warned.

“Please Flint, I’ve been happily married for years and you know it. I’m just being polite, not trying to steal your bird. Though…” he stopped momentarily, “Might want to keep her away from Wood.”

“Too late. Though he only hit on me the first time,” Nora said, rolling her eyes. George stared at her a moment and started laughing. He looked back at Marcus.

“I like her,” he said. He then led her off. Nora glanced over her shoulder, her eyes begging Marcus to follow her. He laughed softly and did as she asked.

~~~~

A few hours later, the group was seated at a table at a pub in the Alley. Wood and Katie had joined them. Marcus had just ordered a round of drinks and returned with glasses full of an amber liquid. He grinned wickedly at Nora, who began sniffing at hers cautiously.

“Now, if you like whisky, Nor, this will blow your mind,” he said. Her father had already taken a drink of his and was sitting with his eyes closed.

“I haven’t had firewhisky in over 30 years,” he said after opening his eyes and smiling. “Careful, dear. It’s mite bit stronger than normal whisky.” Nora grinned.

“I accept your challenge,” she said, holding her glass up. They all saluted each other and then drank, Marcus and Adrian watching Nora closely. She took a moderate size drink and nearly sputtered. Both men started laughing as she took a moment to regain her composure.

“That is good,” she said, grinning up at Marcus. He smiled and leaned down, kissing her.

“Does this mean we can start bringing firewhisky round to the flat?” Wood asked. Nora nodded.

“Please do,” she said, her eyes lighting up.

“Marcus?” a shrill voice said. All looked over to the source, seeing a fashionably dressed woman with impeccably styled dark brown hair. Marcus froze as Adrian began scowling. She looked at Nora, studying her with her perfectly manicure eyebrows raised.

“I heard you were parading around the Alley with a Yank and the Puceys, but felt I needed to see it with my own eyes,” the woman said. Nora’s eyes immediately narrowed.

“Pansy,” Marcus said, with a short nod.

“See you wasted no time going for a younger trollop,” she said. Immediately Adrian and her father were on their feet as Marcus growled. Even Wood was glaring at her while Katie’s hand started moving towards her purse where her wand was.

“That’s my daughter, I’ll have you know,” Frederick said. Pansy glanced at him.

“Ah… a Yank and disinherited. Lovely,” she said.

“Someone’s missing that nice fat allowance, I see,” Adrian said with a smirk. “Is that last season?” He pointed to her dress. Pansy bristled. She looked at Nora and smirked.

“Well it’s obvious what she’s after,” she retorted. All three men made moves toward the woman, but Nora put her hand up.

“Apologies, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Nora Pucey,” she said, holding her hand out. Pansy just glanced at it. “I take it you must be the ex-wife that made Marcus miserable for years.” Pansy’s cheeks turned slightly red as she puffed up a bit.

“A bit forward of you,” she said, looking down her nose at Nora.

“A bit, yes. But I’ve been wanting to meet you. Just so I can thank you,” she replied.

“Whatever for?”

“Well… if you hadn’t royally fucked things up with Marcus, then I never would have gotten the chance to meet him. You see, we’re happy together. Incredibly, amazingly happy together. We go to concerts, watch movies and just sit for hours and talk about anything and everything. He is simply the most amazing man I have ever met and I get to create a life with him. Because you fucked up. So thank you, Pansy. For fucking up,” Nora stated bluntly.

Everyone stared in shocked silence for a few moments as the two women sized each other up. Marcus moved to stand behind Nora, wrapping his arm around her.

“And contrary to what you may think, I’m not after his money. I don’t need it. I have enough of my own. Now you can call me what you want and say whatever you want about me, but say one more thing about my boyfriend, well, sweetie, we’re gonna have some words,” she said, starting to roll her sleeves up though they were already at her elbows.

“Now, now, Nora, no need for that,” Adrian said, stepping up to her and smiling nervously and he glanced around at the folks beginning to stare

“Good-bye, Pansy,” Nora said, waving at her. The woman squeaked and turned on her heel, marching out of the pub. Marcus grinned. He spun Nora around and kissed her.

“You really are the most amazing woman in the world,” he said. Nora tossed her head back laughing. Adrian glanced over, seeing Pansy pause at the door, staring at the two obviously in love. A look of pain on her face. He smirked as she turned and walked out.

“We really need to get her on a broom. I think she could be vicious on the pitch,” Wood said, causing the group to laugh again. Nora looked over at him.

“So when exactly are you guys going to let me in on exactly what quidditch is?”

~~~~

Nora and Marcus sat at the tables assembled out in a wild garden behind an even more preposterous looking house about a week later. Marcus looked uncomfortable, being surrounded by so many people who hated him in school. Nora was terrified that with one slight wind the house would topple over on them. Adrian was happily chattering away about quidditch - which no one had yet fully explained to Nora, saying she needed to see it to understand - with two older red-headed men.

There seemed to be kids everywhere. Marcus had told her before they arrived that the Weasleys were a big family, but she hadn’t realized how big until they got there.

When they arrived, the matriarch of the home - Mrs. Weasley - had tearfully hugged her father while Mr. Weasley had thanked him boisterously. Nora had forced the story out of her father after their trip and she had to admit, she was incredibly proud of the things he had done before she was born - mostly helping find safe houses for various families including the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley had given her a large hug, which caused her to tear up slightly, reminding her of her mother and grandmother simultaneously.

She couldn’t help but be nervous. In such a setting, it was bound to come out that she was wizardborn. While her family and those who had already met her had surmised this - and treated her no differently - she was worried how perfect strangers would look at her. Granted, it helped that Angelina was sitting next to her husband, smiling her support across the table. Admittedly, Nora and Marcus walked in already on the defensive with the rest. Her father smiled at her reassuringly. He had told her before they arrived that the Weasley’s were good people and would no doubt treat her kindly regardless of her status within the wizarding world.

And it didn’t help that the Harry Potter that Adrian and Marcus had told her about was sitting down the table from her. She felt that same rush of nerves and excitement that she got whenever she met a famous musician for the first time.

“So, Nora… I take it you went to Ilvermorny. What was it like?” one of the younger Weasleys asked - Ron. He was seated next to a young woman with brown hair who was busy frowning over at the kids’ table where wild giggles could be heard. A look passed from Angelina to George, making it obvious to Nora that he had been tasked with warning the family of Nora’s non-magical status in advance - and hadn’t. Nora took a deep breath, not expecting it to come up that soon in the meal. Over a dozen eyes settled on her as Marcus squeezed her hand under the table.

“Um, actually, I didn’t. I didn’t know that magic and the wizarding world existed until a couple weeks ago,” she said, willing her voice to sound strong. There was utter silence. “My sister and I… we, ah… we didn’t have magic. So Mom and Dad thought it best that we grow up not knowing about it.”

Her father cleared his throat.

“My wife was muggle. After we escaped England towards the end of the war, we thought it was safer for our family to be completely cut off from the wizarding world. And we felt our children would be happier not knowing rather than face ridicule,” he said.

Thankfully Marcus had explained how rare it was for squibs to be born - even rarer to have more than one in a family - so Nora understood the shock. Didn’t stop her cheeks from turning red.

“Nor’s been a music reporter for the last 10 years. She just started a position as a senior feature writer at the biggest muggle music magazine in England,” Marcus chimed in, daring anyone to say something derogatory about her with his eyes. “She’s a brilliant writer. And a fairly decent musician in her own right.”

“And we’re all right proud of her,” Adrian added. The Weasleys looked downright dumbstruck. Some shifted uncomfortably.

“That’s really amazing. To get such a good position,” a young woman said finally, Hermione. She looked around at the rest of the table. “In the muggle world, journalists are very highly regarded. They have much higher standards. Lying or making up things is frowned upon.”

“Not to mention it could land you in jail in some places - actually, even telling the truth could get you in jail in some places,” Nora said.

“Is that so?” Mr. Weasley said. He smiled down at Nora. “I’ll admit, it’s done a bit differently in the wizarding world. But it does seem fascinating, your work.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence before someone cleared their throat.

“What sorts of musicians have you interviewed?” the famous Harry Potter asked, looking at her with bright green eyes, hoping to break some of the tension.

“Tons,” Nora said. “Too many to name, almost. But most recently I sat down with Coldplay. And I’ll be doing a big feature on Glastonbury this summer.”

“Are you intending to go?” Hermione asked, her brown eyes widening. Nora nodded.

“I’ve always loved music festivals. I’m taking my best friend Laura with me,” she replied. “This one was gracious enough to offer her his spot.” Harry, Ron and Hermione looked over at him, blinking in astonishment at the idea of Marcus Flint at a music festival. “So what is it you all do?”

“Well, I work in the Ministry of Magic, as does Harry and Percy,” Hermione said.

“She’s being modest. Looking at being made Minister soon,” Ron said, gazing lovingly at his wife. Nora’s eyes widened. “She’s Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement.” Hermione blushed slightly.

“I work with Harry, primarily,” she said. “And Perce is the head of the Department of Magical Transportation.” Nora looked down at the man in question who seemed to puff his chest up slightly.

“Those three have done the most work, however,” he said. “Revolutionized the Ministry and improved conditions for all sorts that make up our world.”

With that statement, it seemed like everyone relaxed at bit, Nora more than the others. She smiled appreciatively towards the trio and then looked up at Marcus, who beamed at her.

“What I’m curious about, is how in Merlin’s name did you two meet?” George said as conversations started picking up again. “And how on earth a lovely young woman such as yourself managed to fall in love with the troll?” Nora whipped her head around to frown at him, but noticed his wide grin. The comment was in jest.

“That, my friend, would be my doing,” Adrian said proudly. “I knew Nor was coming to visit, so decided to introduce her to my friends finally. After I found out she was moving here - and seeing the interest between them - I did what I could to push them together.”

Nora laughed loudly, causing the table to laugh with her.

“Puh-lease, Marcus and I didn’t need any pushing,” she scoffed. She looked over at him and smiled. “I was smitten from the second I saw him. I have a thing for the silent and brooding type.” Marcus grinned.

“And I couldn’t take my eyes off Nora, granted it was mostly because her tattoos and pink hair were so distracting,” he replied jokingly. Nora pushed him slightly as he chuckled.

“Is this… Flint… being… sweet?” George asked, eyes wide.

“He’s always been sweet… at least with me,” Nora replied, looking at George. “He even went out and bought a cell phone the day after we met, just so he could stay in contact me.” Marcus flushed slightly as the entire Weasley brood grinned at him.

“I had to teach him to use it and give him a crash course in muggle living so he didn’t give anything away,” Pucey said. “It was hilarious.” Nora turned to her cousin.

“You should have seen him when I introduced him to Facebook. I set it up for him and within a week, he became a monster. Posting photos of random things,” she said. “Really, you don’t need to post pictures of your plants.”

“Face-what?” Ron, Hermione’s husband, asked.

“Is that that website where you make friends or something… on the… internat?” Mr. Weasley asked.

“Internet. And it’s called social media,” Hermione answered. “You create an account and can share photos and messages with friends and family from all over the world. I’ve got one.”

“You do?” Ron asked in shocked.

“Well yes, I am muggleborn and try to keep up with new things,” she said, scoffing slightly. “Plus it helps my parents and muggle family keep up with the children.” She pulled out a phone and fiddled with it a bit, then stopped and smiled. “There, I just added both of you,” she said towards Nora and Marcus. She looked down. “That is the sweetest profile photo, Marcus.” She held it up for Ron and Harry to see. It was a photo of Marcus and Nora sitting by the lake at Hyde Park. Marcus was kissing Nora’s cheek while she laughed. They both looked up at their former rival captain, seemingly perplexed by the man sitting down the table from them. Marcus cleared his throat.

“I’ve changed a lot over the years,” he said. He glanced down at Nora. “But Nora... she was just what I needed to figure out who I truly am… which is apparently the sort of bloke that takes silly photos with his girlfriend.” The table burst out into laughter.

The rest of the lunch passed by in friendly and often hilarious conversation. Nora found the Weasleys to be warm and inviting, accepting her and Marcus into their fold out of sincerity and not just because her father had helped them hide during the first war. As they were leaving, Mrs. Weasley had given Nora another large hug telling her to owl anytime and try to stop by for tea whenever she had a free chance. Even though Nora had no idea what ‘owl’ meant. Mr. Weasley backed her up, mentioning he’d love to learn more about the muggle journalism world.

George invited her to the shop. Angelina invited her out to dinner with Percy’s wife Audrey and Alicia. Nora accepted, thinking she’d like to start making more girlfriends within the wizarding community. Ginny, George’s younger sister and Harry’s wife chimed in, saying she’d try and drag Hermione away from her desk one night and they could do a girls’ night. While she was talking to the women, she looked over and noticed George, Ron and Harry speaking to Marcus. He glanced over at her and smiled, then put out his hand to the men who all shook it, smiling in return.

Her father spent some time speaking with the elderly Weasley’s assuring them that now that Nora was living in London - and introduced to the wizarding world - he would be over often to visit. For now, he would need to head back to the U.S. Nora’s younger sister would need to be told. He hoped the two would come back to visit soon.

They eventually left the Burrow as the sun was setting, Adrian and Nora’s father heading to his place where he would floo out and head to the States. Marcus apparated the two to his apartment in Diagon Alley. Nora took a deep breath, settling her head and stomach after the slightly uncomfortable trip.

“As convenient as that is, god it does a number on my stomach,” she said. Marcus chuckled and kissed her head. Nora walked out onto the balcony and sat while Marcus got them two glasses of wine. Spring was finally starting to take hold, though the nights were still a little chilly. Sipping quietly, she pondered over everything that had happened since she arrived in London in September and how her life had changed. She looked over at Marcus.

“What were you four talking about before we left?” she asked suddenly. Marcus chuckled.

“Finally laying to rest an old rivalry,” he said with a sigh. “We saw each other at the battle, but never really spoke. They of course heard about some of the things Adrian and I did, and the divorce, but… old prejudices die hard. Even though I helped during the war, they still couldn’t get past my days in Slytherin. Until today.” He looked over at her. “Mostly because of you. I guess seeing me so madly in love with a non-magical, unconventional woman made them realize I’m not who I was then.” Nora smiled.

“I take it they were shocked by the fact that you do actually have a sense of humor,” she said. Marcus chuckled again.

“I thought Ron’s jaw would fall off when Hermione showed him our photos,” he said. Nora stood and walked around the table, then sat on Marcus’ lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Well I think it’s a good thing,” she said pecking him on the lips. Marcus smiled at her. Looking at her his heart swelled. He never thought his life could be like this. Before he met Nora, he thought his life would be a long, monotonous journey until the end. But now… there was hope. And his life was bursting in color and excitement. He didn’t know what lie ahead, but he knew he could face it with Nora at his side.


	21. Chapter 21

Nora sat and looked around the stadium in awe. She had been to a lot of sporting events, but this… this was something beyond her. They were in a box that had to have been at least 50 feet up in the air, looking down as people zipped around in the air on broomsticks.

“Okay, this is bizarre,” she said, her eyes wide. Marcus chuckled from next to her.

“This is quidditch, Nor,” he said. She shook her head slightly, looking over at him. “You remember how it works?”

“I think so,” she said, looking back out at the field as Laura laughed from next to her. “You into this too?”

“A bit. I was a huge Harpies fan back in school,” she said. Nora took in the Puddlemere jersey her best friend was wearing.

“I see you’ve changed your alliances,” she commented.

“Still a Harpies fan. I just root for Puddlemere when they aren’t playing the Harpies,” she said.

“Who are we playing again?” Nora asked, squinting as she tried to make out the uniforms of the other team.

“The Falcons. Should be a good match,” Marcus said.

“Didn’t you get an offer from them?” Laura asked. Nora turned to look at her boyfriend in surprise. Marcus smiled and shrugged.

“Professional quidditch wasn’t an option for me,” he said.

“Really? Fuck, I’m not sure I want to meet your parents,” Nora said, crossing her arms. “Wouldn’t let you do something you love and all…”

“Nor, it’s fine. Things worked out for the best,” he said before kissing her cheek. “I’m not sure I was cut out for professional quidditch.”

“Obviously you were if you got an offer,” Nora muttered. Marcus chuckled.

“It’s ancient history, Nor,” he said. Nora glanced up at him. “Besides, I vaguely remember someone turning down a music career…”

“The game is starting. Shut up,” Nora said quickly, causing Marcus to laugh. The three sat up in their chairs, tuning into the toss-up. As soon as the game started, Nora was enthralled. After about 30 minutes, she had a decent enough grasp of the rules and such that she started shouting at the players.

“How could he miss that pass!” she said, jumping to her feet and pointing. Marcus stared at her in amusement.

“Just wait until you go to a baseball game with her. Or even American football,” Laura said, chuckling.

“That was clearly a foul!” Nora shouted. Marcus pulled on her arm, forcing her back into her chair.

“It wasn’t, Nora,” he said, laughing.

“It should be!” she shouted, indignant. Several people around them chuckled at her outburst.

“Think it’s about time for a beer,” Laura said, standing and making her way across Nora and Marcus.

“What was that!” Nora shouted. Marcus looked at Laura.

“Nope. She’s all yours,” she said before disappearing towards the bar.

“First time at a quidditch game?” a younger man asked, leaning up towards Marcus and Nora. Marcus looked back at him, recognizing him as the Arrows star chaser, Jacob White. He nodded and laughed.

“She’s apparently taken to it,” he said, smiling. Jacob laughed and then noticed the name on the back of her jersey.

“Blimey, where did you get your hands on a Pucey jersey?” he asked.

“He’s my cousin,” Nora said without turning to look at him. Jacob’s eyes widened.

“You’re related to Adrian Pucey?” he asked. Nora turned and looked at him.

“Seriously? Adey was that famous?” she asked. Jacob laughed.

“Almost as famous as Oliver Wood,” he said. “He was one of the reasons I decided to go professional.” Nora’s eyebrows shot up. “How is it this your first quidditch match? I know they have a league in America, which is where you’re from, right?”

“Long story short, I didn’t know about magic until a few months ago,” she said. “I thought he played football.” Jacob started laughing.

“How on earth did you think football and quidditch were anything alike?” he asked. Nora shrugged.

“I don’t really like football so knew absolutely nothing about it,” she replied before turning back to the game. “Fuck! How is that legal??” Marcus looked back at Jacob, who shook his head slowly.

“Keep hold of that one,” he said, pointing at Nora. “I’ve yet to find a woman this into quidditch.”

“Apparently she’s into baseball, too,” he said. “We’ve got tickets to a game next week.” Jacob chuckled.

“I try to catch games when I can. But it doesn’t hold a candle to quidditch,” he said.

“Got that right,” Nora replied as she took the beer that Laura had offered to her upon her return.

“Christ, it’s going to be nothing but sports talk from now on,” she said, rolling her eyes. Jacob’s face lit up as he caught sight of her.

“Not into quidditch are you?” he asked, smiling.

“She’s taken,” Nora said without looking. “She’s with my cousin.” Marcus nearly spit out his beer as Laura’s face turned bright red. Jacob laughed.

“Fair enough,” he replied.

They spent the next four hours of the match chatting with the chaser. Nora often turning to ask Marcus or Jacob questions as Laura laughed at her. Both were patient with her and Nora’s excitement about the game was infectious with more and more players sitting around them joining in with explanations and conversation. Nora’s gift of pulling in people coming into play.

By the end of the match when Nora jumped to her feet cheering at Puddlemere’s victory, she was grinning at them all as though they were long-time friends.

“See you lot at the after party?” Jacob asked as they all started to leave. Nora’s face lit up as she looked at Marcus.

“Please, please?” she begged. Marcus chuckled.

“I suppose we could,” he said, not wanting to deny her anything. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been to one. But I know Adrian will want to go.”

“Where is it?” Nora asked, turning to Jacob.

“Puddlemere won, so I suspect it’ll be at their chaser’s place,” he said before explaining the directions to Marcus. Nora hopped around in glee as Jacob waved at them and walked off.

“Never been to an after party for a game,” she said, grinning. “Will there be a lot of famous players there?” Marcus chuckled as he led her out towards the apparition points.

“I suspect we might hit up a few now that you know about everything. And yes, you’ll meet a lot of players,” he said. Nora laughed.

“This is going to be fun! Be sure to point out the good ones.”

~~~

An hour later, they were standing in the living room of a large, extravagant apartment. Nora had just done a shot with the Puddlemere players, all of whom were beyond elated to meet Adrian’s American cousin. None of them seemed the least bit put off by the fact she was non-magical. Marcus stood at her side, gazing down at her in happiness.

“Seriously, Adrian, you should have brought her out long ago,” the Puddlemere center chase, Ian Kelly, said. Adrian grinned, tightening his arm around Laura’s waist.

“Would have done so sooner if I could have,” he said. “Warms my heart to see she’s taken with quidditch.”

“Seriously, this sport is amazing. Even if it makes no sense,” Nora said, smiling. “I want season tickets.” Adrian looked over at Marcus, who just laughed and shrugged.

“I won’t fight her on that,” he replied. Adrian sighed and shook his head.

“I suppose I could pull some strings,” he said.

“OLIVER!” Nora shouted, stepping over and pulling him into the group. “Such a good game.” He frowned at her slightly.

“How would you know? It’s your first match,” he replied.

“I’m a quick learner,” she said. “But I really think you need to work on your defensive strategies.”

“Blimey,” Marcus said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve created a monster.” Wood frowned down at her.

“I’ve got good defensive strategies,” he said. Nora looked around, quickly locating the Puddlmere beaters.

“Wright, Bogwater!” she shouted.

“It’s Bogswackle,” the beater in question responded.

“Whatever,” Nora said. “Bogs something. You should really-“

“Nor, I think we should get another drink,” Marcus said, starting to pull her away.

“No! I’m not done!” she whined.

“Let’s leave professional quidditch to the professionals,” he said as the two beaters started laughing. Oliver shot him a grateful look.

“No, no, I want to hear this,” Wright said, grinning. Oliver shot him a look.

“Trust me, you don’t,” Adrian said. Nora shot him a dirty look. “Seriously, Nor. It was your first match.”

“I’m a quick learner!” Nora shouted in protest. Adrian sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Not baseball, Nor,” he replied.

“You like baseball?” Wright said, perking up. “Which MLB team is your favorite?”

“St. Louis Cards,” Nora responded immediately. Wright grinned.

“Always been partial to them. Ever since they won the World Series in 2006,” he said. Nora lit up.

“I was there!” she declared. Adrian shot her a look. “Okay, so not there there, but I snuck into Busch Stadium right after they won Game 5.”

“Really?” Wright asked.

“I was there for a journalism conference in university. We watched the game from a bar down the street and then got into the stadium right after,” Nora said.

“You don’t say,” he said. Soon the two were in an animated discussion about the Cards pitching lineup while Oliver watched the two in awe.

“She really does get into sports,” he said.

“Should have seen her during the match,” Marcus said. Laura rolled her eyes.

“You really don’t know what you’ve done,” she said before wandering off to get another drink.

“Tell me she wasn’t yelling at the players,” Adrian replied.

“Learned some colorful new words today,” Marcus said.

“Blimey, you’ve got yourself a keeper,” Wood said, still watching her.

“I’ve no doubt about that,” Marcus said with a chuckle.

~~~

“I take it you like quidditch?” Marcus asked later that night when he and Nora were settled in bed at his flat. As the party was in Diagon Alley and Nora had gotten quite drunk, he thought it better to just walk to his place rather than apparate them to hers and risk Nora throwing up all over the place.

“It’s so fun!” Nora exclaimed with a giggle as she looked over at him. “Seriously. Fun. Can we go to all the after parties?” Marcus chuckled.

“Not sure you’ll want to go to all of them. We’re not as young as we used to be,” he said. Nora sat up and looked at him.

“Marcus Flint. I refuse to let you think that you’re old,” she said, crossing her arms.

“I am 43, Nor,” he said.

“Age is just a number,” she replied. “Your only as old as you feel.”

“And right now, I feel tired,” he replied, smiling. Nora rolled her eyes and settled back down in bed next to him.

“You’re not old,” she said.

“Goodnight, Nor,” Marcus replied with a soft.

“Seriously. Not old,” she said with a yawn. Marcus leaned over and kissed the top of her head as her eyes drifted closed. “I mean it.”

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Love you too…”


	22. Chapter 22

Once Nora and Marcus had made the decision to move in together, it was a matter of whether they would live in the muggle world or Diagon Alley. Marcus had proposed muggle London so that she could continue to invite her work friends over regularly. But Nora had other ideas and was insistent on fully embracing the new part of her life. Sure it would mean a bit more interesting commute for her to work, but she was so in love with the Alley and magical world that there was no talking her out of it.

Helped that outside a few of her work friends, she mostly spent her time with magical friends. None of which seemed to think of her any differently because of her non-magical status. Laura was thrilled more than anyone, promptly dragging Nora out to wizarding concerts.

Much to Marcus’ amusement, Angelina and Alicia had become frequent guests at the new apartment, starting to join Katie. And of course, Wood continued to come over - either with Katie or Adrian. Even George and Lee Jordan had accompanied their wives to a few dinner parties. Marcus had to chuckle to himself. Never would he have thought that he’d end up spending so much time with Gryffindors. But Nora was like that - bringing together the most interesting of people.

He would often find her sitting out on the balcony with her laptop when he came in from work in the evenings. Which is where he found her when he came home from work one Wednesday. He tossed his briefcase and robe on the sofa and went to grab two glasses and wine.

He stopped and watched her from the doorway a moment. She was looking out over the street in quiet contemplation. While her face was the picture of calm, he could almost imagine her brain whirling at light speed. She then sat up and started typing furiously, her eyes taking on a bright glint as she smiled slightly.

“Working on your next piece?” he asked. She glanced up at him and nodded.

“This one should be good,” she said, grinning.

“Dare say they’re all good if you’re writing,” he said, putting the glasses down and filling them. Nora chuckled.

“How was work?” she asked.

“The same. Finally got that deed worked out,” he said, sitting.

“The one on the old manor that was causing trouble?” she asked, pausing from her writing to take a sip from her glass. He nodded.

“Magical contracts can be a bit tricky but we got it sorted,” he said. Nora nodded. Marcus shifted in his chair slightly, getting more comfortable.

“Don’t suppose you handle marriage licenses?” Nora asked nonchalantly.

“Some here and there,” he responded.

“Should probably get to work on ours then, don’t you think?” Nora replied, watching him. Marcus choked a bit on his drink as Nora laughed. He sat the glass down on the table, still sputtering.

“I thought I was supposed to be the one asking,” he said, looking up at her.

“Should know by now that I don’t really do things the way that’s expected,” she said with a smirk. Marcus laughed. He then stood and disappeared inside a moment. He returned and knelt in front of Nora.

“At least let me do this part properly,” he said, looking up at her. Nora grinned as she sat up in her chair. “Nora Marianne Pucey… I love you and I can’t imagine living life without you. Would you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?” He opened the small box in his hand to reveal a simple, yet beautiful ring. Nora gasped.

“It’s beautiful, Marcus,” she said.

“So… will you?” he asked. Nora nodded as her eyes filled with tears.

“Of course, you idiot,” she whispered. He took the ring and slid it on her finger. “Suppose this means it’s about time that I meet your mother.” Marcus froze and looked up at her.

“Let’s not rush into anything,” he said. Nora laughed loudly.

“You just proposed to me and yet you think meeting your family is rushing it?” she said, running her fingers through his hair.

“Nor, you know what my family is like,” he said. Nora looked at him, a bit more seriously.

“I know. Just as you know I can handle it,” she said. Marcus smiled slightly and nodded.

“Guess I’ll send an owl,” he said.

“Good.”

~~~~

“So what’s this big announcement,” Adrian said bounding into the apartment later that night. He looked around and found Nora and Marcus in the kitchen, cooking. Nora looked up at him and grinned.

“Getting a bit warm in here, don’t you think?” she asked Marcus, fanning her left hand in front of her. Adrian’s mouth dropped open as he saw the ring.

“Holy shit, you finally asked her?” he shouted looking at Marcus.

“Technically, I think she asked first,” Marcus said. Adrian ran over and pulled Nora into a hug, swinging her around. Once he placed her back down, he hugged Marcus.

“Welcome to the family, Flint!!” he shouted. “Alright, full story. Now.” Nora laughed.

“Let’s get the food to the table first,” she said. They all quickly took the food over and once the three were settled at the table on the balcony, Adrian looked at the couple expectantly.

“Well, she asked me about work…” Marcus started.

“And then I asked if he did marriage licenses,” Nora added.

“Then she asked if I could do our marriage license,” Marcus said chuckling. Adrian looked at his cousin.

“Don’t beat around the bush, do you, Nor?” he asked, laughing. “What if he had some grand proposal prepared?” Nora shrugged and looked at Flint.

“Apologies, dear, if you did,” she said. He laughed.

“To be honest, I’ve had that ring for a while, I just wasn’t sure how to ask you. Nothing seemed right,” he said. “But that… that felt right.”

“Have you told Uncle yet?” Adrian asked.

“Flooed him an hour ago,” Nora said. “He was thrilled. Finally one of us is getting married.”

“What about the date?”

“We were thinking end of the summer,” Flint said.

“Not a lot of time to prepare,” Adrian said. Nora shrugged.

“Won’t be a big wedding, so not much to prepare for,” she said.

“Are you sure? It’s your wedding. Are you sure you don’t want a big party?” Flint asked. “I know it’s my second, but we can go as big as you want.” Nora shrugged.

“I figure the ceremony itself can be small - just magical friends and family. Then we can have a big party at a bar somewhere for muggles and magical,” she said. “Seems like a good compromise.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Marcus said.

“At the end of the day, all that matters is that you’re at the end of the aisle waiting on me,” she said.

~~~

“Merlin! It’s gorgeous!” Angelina shouted as she looked at the ring on Nora’s finger. “I knew he would ask you!”

“I think we all knew that the moment they said they were moving in together,” Katie replied, sipping her wine. It was a few days later and the guys had taken Marcus out to celebrate, so Nora had the ladies over for a chill night in. She smiled around the room, happy to have found a solid group of girlfriends. Alicia was sitting next to Angelina on the sofa while Katie was in the armchair and Laura was bringing more bottles of wine into the living room from the kitchen.

“How did Eliza take it?” she asked, sitting on the floor.

“My ears were ringing for a few hours afterwards,” Nora said with a laugh. “I didn’t know she could scream so loudly.”

“Probably gunning for nieces and nephews,” Laura said without thinking. Nora winced slightly but shrugged it off.

“No kids for us,” she said lightly before taking a sip. Katie looked at her in sympathy.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Nor. I forgot,” Laura said. Nora shrugged.

“It’s okay, really,” she said. “I’ve got Marcus and that’s enough.”

“I never in a million years thought I’d be such good friends with Marcus Flint’s fiancé,” Alicia said, chuckling and hoping to diffuse a bit of the tension.

“Seriously, was it really that bad between Slytherin and Gryffindor?” Nora asked, staring at the three women.

“You’ve no idea,” Katie said, rolling her eyes.

“Thank god everyone grew out of that quickly,” Laura replied. “I had quite a few friends outside of Slytherin when I was at school.”

“And how many of them were Gryffindor?” Angelina asked. Laura scrunched her nose slightly.

“Well…okay so most of them were Ravenclaw. But I was good friends with two Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff as well,” she said. “It was only because Gryffindors were always so bloody annoying with their do-gooder image.” The women all laughed.

“I doubt you would have been Slytherin if you went with us,” Katie said. “Being halfblood and all.” Laura shrugged.

“I probably would have been. I’m too sly for my own good,” she said with a grin. Katie shook her head.

“And here you are dating a Slytherin,” she replied. Laura shrugged again.

“Adrian gets me,” she said, smiling.

“How long before wedding bells sound in your future?” Alicia asked.

“Dear god, just because Nora’s engaged doesn’t mean Adrian and I have to go racing down the aisle after her,” Laura said, rolling her eyes. “I have time.”

“And Adrian will never grow up,” Nora added.

“And I don’t care if he never does,” Laura added with a grin. Nora laughed and shook her head. “Life is certainly never boring with him.”

“Where did he say he was taking them all tonight?” Katie asked. Nora shrugged.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I want to know,” she said before taking a sip of wine.

“Surely it’s not something too racy,” Laura said. “I know he gets to be a bit much, but he’s certainly not the type to take them to a strip club or something.” Nora chuckled.

“You sure about that?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. Laura glared at her.

“He wouldn’t,” she replied. Nora just shrugged as the women laughed.

“I don’t think he would, but you never know with Adrian…”

~~~

“Thank Merlin you didn’t take us to a strip club,” Marcus said as he looked over at Adrian. He had just ordered another round of shots and was grinning.

“Eh, not my sort of place. Plus, didn’t think this lot would appreciate it,” he said, motioning to Lee, George and Wood.

“We may be Gryffindors but we’re not sticks in the mud,” Oliver said, frowning at him.

“No, that would be my older brother,” George said before taking a drink.

“I thought Percy had lightened up a bit since school,” Lee said, looking over at George.

“Still a stickler for the rules,” George said blandly. He looked over at Flint. “How does it feel to be engaged? Again?” Marcus laughed.

“Never been happier,” he stated truthfully. The shots arrived and George held his glass up to Marcus.

“Here’s to hoping you don’t end up like Wood,” he said cheerfully. Oliver scowled at his school friend.

“I resent that,” he said.

“And there’s no way this one is letting Nora get away,” Adrian said happily, pointing at Marcus.

“I’d be crazy to let go of Nora,” he said, smiling before taking the shot.

“Is it true she drags you out to muggle concerts?” Lee asked, looking at him. Marcus nodded.

“We saw some band called Mumford & Sons just last week,” he said.

“Angelina won’t stop talking about all the muggle music bars Nora’s been dragging her to,” George replied.

“Neither will Alicia,” Lee added with a chuckle. Marcus laughed and shook his head slightly.

“That’s Nora for you. Gets everyone excited about music,” Marcus said.

“So, I suppose we should start planning the bachelor party,” George said in glee as he looked over at Adrian.

“I thought that’s what this was,” Marcus said. Adrian laughed and shook his head.

“This is just a celebration. That, well, you’ll need to prepare yourself for that,” he said. Marcus’ eyes widened.

“I suppose after I introduce Nora to my family, I’ll be able to handle just about anything,” he said before taking a drink. Adrian spit his whisky out.

“You’re taking her to meet your parents?” he asked in shock.

“She hasn’t met them yet?” Wood asked. George and Lee just laughed.

“You really think I would have introduced her yet?” Marcus asked, looking at Wood. “They barely talk to me as it is.”

“They’ll go ballistic. Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Adrian asked. Marcus sighed.

“Doesn’t matter. She’s hung up on the idea now. And when Nora decides to do something…”

“I know, I know. There’s no convincing her otherwise,” Adrian added. Wood looked at Adrian and Marcus. “I won’t lie, I’m curious to see how she does up against your mother. She handled Pansy nicely.” George and Lee stared at Marcus.

“Nora’s met Pansy?” George asked, starting to grin. “How did that go?”

“Showed her what’s what,” Adrian said, smiling proudly. “She’s got that Pucey pride.”

“I wish I could have seen that,” George said. “I know I don’t know her that well, but she seems like a firecracker. And she can handle the chaos of my family.”

“Nora can handle just about anything, I reckon,” Marcus said with a chuckle.

“That’s for sure,” Adrian added. George just shook his head and lifted his glass up again.

“Well, best of luck to you. And may life never be boring,” he proclaimed.

“It most certainly never will be,” Marcus said.


	23. Chapter 23

Nora pulled at her skirt nervously, even though it was rather conservative as far as her wardrobe usually went. She almost wore a full out business suit before Marcus laughed and assured her it wasn’t necessary for meeting his parents. They may be old-fashioned, but there was no need for formal wear as far as he was concerned. So instead she had opted for a knee-length spring dress and cardigan, feeling like she was going to a summer garden party. All she lacked was the hat.

He had apparated them to the drive in front of the large manor, causing Nora’s eyes to widen as she gulped.

“Jesus, you grew up here?” she said.

“Yea,” he said, leading her towards the front door.

“No wonder you hated your family,” she said sarcastically. Marcus chuckled.

“Just wait until you meet them,” he said with a roll of his eyes. He pushed the heavy door open and stepped into a large, marble foyer with a grand staircase as the centerpiece. Looking up, part of the four floors that went up were visible. Despite the light pouring in from the large windows in the ceiling, it still seemed cold and sterile. Like walking into a museum.

“Ah, young Master Flint has returned!” a voice squeaked. Nora gasped as a small creature dressed in a tiny maid’s dress – complete with frilly apron - appeared, looking up at them with large, round eyes.

“Yes, Dipsy. Could you please inform Mother that I’m here,” he said.

“Of course, Sir! Mistress Flint said for you to wait for her in the parlor,” Dipsy squeaked before disappearing. Marcus looked back at Nora, who was frozen.

“What is that?” she asked, looking over at Marcus.

“Uh… house elf,” he said. “A lot of the old pureblood families still use them to staff their manors.”

“Wait, that’s what elves look like? I always assumed they were… prettier,” she said, looking back towards the spot where the elf had stood.” Marcus chuckled as he started leading her towards a large door on the right.

“Expecting Legolas, were you?” he asked.

“No,” Nora scoffed. He glanced back at her. “Maybe.” Marcus chuckled as they walked into a large parlor with windows along one wall and a massive fireplace decorating one side. They sat down on a small sofa there, Nora looking around the room.

“This is a bit bigger than I was expecting,” she said.

“I always thought it was too much like a museum,” he said, shifting slightly as though he couldn’t get comfortable.

“I can see that,” Nora said, looking over at him. “Nothing at all like where I grew up. And I used to think our house was big.”

“Your house was still probably loads better than this place,” he said softly. Nora shrugged.

“I can’t complain,” she said airily. “Are you going to give me a tour later? I’d love to see your old room.”

“Not much there to see,” he said. “At least in the way of dirt, which I’m positive that’s your only reason for wanting to see it.” Nora laughed.

“Can you blame me? You’ve seen all my old school photos. Only fair I get to see yours,” she said.

“I’m sure we could oblige you,” a voice said. Both Nora and Marcus looked over and stood upon seeing Eugenia Flint standing in a doorway, dressed in an outfit that looked vaguely Edwardian. Her face was set in a firm look of indifference as she walked over to the two. “Eugenia Flint,” she said, holding her hand out. Nora shook it.

“Nora Pucey,” she replied, a bit put off by the woman’s frigidness.

“Please, sit. Dipsy! Tea!” Just as soon as they all sat, a large silver tea service appeared on a table and Eugenia set about to pouring. Nora hid her surprise, still being slightly unused to the everyday use of magic though Adrian and Marcus had taken to using it often around her. “So… The daughter of Frederick Pucey. How is your father? I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“He’s doing well. He still lives in New York near my younger sister,” Nora replied, accepting the tea cup Eugenia handed to her.

“That is good to hear,” she said. She glanced over at Marcus. “I must admit, I wish we could have met sooner.”

“Well… I didn’t really know about magic until a couple months ago,” Nora said. “So, it would have been difficult.” Eugenia nodded.

“Ah, yes. Marcus informed me about your… non-magical status,” she said before taking a sip. Marcus frowned at her, though silently grateful she had refrained from calling Nora a squib to her face.

“Will Father be joining us?” Marcus asked.

“Perhaps. He’s in the library at the moment,” Eugenia said, not offering any more explanation. Nora shifted slightly, finding it hard not to fidget until the woman’s cold stare. “And I’ve heard that you two are now living together?” Nora nodded.

“We found a nice flat in Diagon Alley,” she said, smiling. Eugenia’s eyebrows rose.

“Diagon Alley? I would think that you two would be happier somewhere in the muggle world,” she replied.

“Well, honestly since I’ve found out, I’ve just completely fallen in love with the wizarding world,” Nora said, looking over at Marcus. “Marcus has been a very good guide through it all.”

“I see,” Eugenia said.

“And really, the commute to my office is not that much farther than where I had been living,” Nora said, turning back to Eugenia.

“Your office?” the older woman asked. “You mean you work?” Nora frowned slightly, finding the question odd.

“Well, yea. Just because we’re living together doesn’t mean I’m giving up my job,” she replied.

“Oh, well, forgive me. I suppose I’m just too used to different circles,” Eugenia said offhandedly. Nora blinked slightly, still not sure if she had just been insulted or not. “Your father used to be part of it, you know. He was always such a lively addition to our gatherings.”

“I admit he doesn’t really talk much about the old days,” Nora said, her brow furrowed. Frederick Pucey had finally opened up a bit about his past before Nora and her siblings came along, granted he didn’t have many good things to say. Nora felt it best not to bring that up in front of her future mother-in-law.

“I assume he wouldn’t after being disowned,” Eugenia said. Nora went silent, not sure how to respond.

“He’s made a good name for himself as a businessman in New York,” Marcus said, stepping up to defend his future father-in-law.

“I’ve no doubt. Always an ambitious one,” Eugenia said. “It’s what made him an honored member of Slytherin. Dare say there are few things you could learn from him in that regard.” She met Marcus’ eyes. Nora cleared her throat as Marcus tensed beside her. He had hoped they would make it farther in than five minutes before his mother insulted one or both of them and Nora exploded.

“I think Marcus is quite successful. His firm is doing well-”

“I do not need you to tell me about my son’s firm,” Eugenia said with the wave of a hand. “I do keep abreast of these things.” Nora narrowed her eyes at the older woman. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Marcus spoke.

“Oh, by the way, Mother. We have news. I’ve asked Nora to marry me,” he said. Eugenia’s eyes flicked over to him as the shock became apparent on her face.

“You… you’re getting married?” she asked, looking back at Nora.

“Yes, at the end of the summer,” Marcus said, reaching over to take Nora’s hand. “It’s why Nora insisted on meeting you.”

“You wanted to meet us?” Eugenia asked. Nora nodded.

“Thought it was the right thing to do, considering we’re about to be family. Try and bury the hatchet and all,” Nora said. “Though I suppose I should have listened to Marcus on that.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Eugenia asked.

“He was convinced that you would never accept us being together. I, on the other hand, still have hope for the world. But maybe I was wrong,” she said, not mincing her words. The older woman stared in shock at her blunt statement.

“I’m not entirely sure it’s appropriate for you to be so frank with me, Nora,” she said. Nora shrugged.

“I make it a point to never beat around the bush,” she said before taking a sip of her tea. Marcus looked back and forth between his mother and his fiancé, not sure he wanted to step into the middle of that.

“And you’re okay with this, Marcus?” Eugenia asked.

“Of course. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with her,” he replied. Eugenia studied the two a moment before speaking.

“Suppose I should get your father. He’ll want to hear the news,” she said. “Dipsy! Please send for Master Flint.” The elf appeared and bobbed her head slightly.

“Yes, Mistress,” she said before disappearing, Nora openly staring at the spot where she had just been.

“Quite useful, house elves. Though now we have to pay her thanks to all those new laws at the Ministry,” the older woman said, rolling her eyes slightly. Nora looked over at her.

“You didn’t pay them before?” she asked.

“Things have changed a lot in the past couple of decades. I’ll explain later,” Marcus said quickly, cutting off what was sure to turn into a shouting match if it continued. At this point, it was safer to pick their battles. And with his father coming, there was sure to be a bigger battle on the horizon. Nora looked over at him. At that moment, a door open and a tall distinguished man walked in. Marcus immediately stood.

“Father,” he said solemnly. The man looked at him a moment and then over at Nora.

“So this is the Pucey girl we’ve been hearing about,” he said boredly before walking over and sitting next to his wife.

“They’ve come to tell us that they’re getting married,” Eugenia said before taking a sip of her tea. The older Flint stared at Nora, noting her pink hair. Nora pulled at the sleeves of her cardigan, hoping the two didn’t have x-ray sight and could see her tattoos. Though part of her wanted to roll up her sleeves and shock the hell out of both Flints.

“Married? Thought you had given that up after the last one didn’t work out,” Mr. Flint said, glancing at his son. Marcus shifted in his chair. It was the first time his father had spoken to him directly since they had the fight over his divorce.

“It’s different this time,” Marcus said.

“So, I can see,” Flint senior said, taking in Nora. She narrowed her eyes, not liking the way he was scrutinizing her as though she were some sort of insect.

“It is. I’m actually happy now,” Marcus said. Both his mother and father looked at him.

“And I’m happy with him,” Nora added.

“A working marriage is more than just happiness,” Eugenia said. “What makes you think that you can be a good wife and productive member of the Flint family? You don’t even have magic.” Nora’s eyes widened as though she had been slapped. She took a deep breath but before she could respond, Marcus had started laughing. She whipped her head around to look at him. 

“I should have known this would be a disaster,” he said. His parents were staring oddly at him. “Christ, even Adrian tried to talk me out of it.”

“Stop laughing, Marcus. It’s unseemly,” Eugenia said.

“On the contrary, I find this whole situation hilarious,” Marcus said. He looked at Nora and took her hand, squeezing it, then back at his parents. “We’re not here for your blessing. I had hoped maybe we could mend our ties – you are my parents after all – but it seems that’s not going to happen. I’m in love with Nora and incredibly happy with her. We’re getting married. You’re both invited to the wedding, but I won’t be surprised if you decide not to come.” He stood and pulled Nora up with him. “I think we’ve wasted enough time here.”

His father stared at him a moment before speaking.

“Once again, you’ve found a new way to disappoint me,” he said with a sigh, putting his cup down on the table and standing. Nora rose to her full height and started to walk towards him.

“Nor-“

“No, let me get this out, Marcus,” she said. She let go of his hand, and rolled her sleeves up, noting Eugenia’s look of shock and feeling satisfied. “I know that I’m different. I don’t have magic. I won’t fit in in your world, but quite frankly, I don’t care to. Look around. The world has changed and you’re getting left behind. Your son is not a disappointment. He is a great man. He has a successful business and what’s more than that, he’s saved lives. He went behind your backs and did whatever he could to keep complete strangers safe. He went to Hogwarts and faced down some of his old friends and classmates because it was the right thing to do. He could have been killed, but he knew he wanted – needed – to be on the right side of history. Now, you can continue on and punish him for mistakes that you think he’s made, but I stand by him and I think he has been incredibly brave.” Both his parents stared at her in shock.

“You can think me beneath you all you want, I don’t care. I know where I fit in and that’s next to Marcus. We’re getting married and we’re creating a life together. It’d be nice if you want to be part of that, but I won’t lose any sleep at night if you decide not to,” she said. “Good-bye Mr. and Mrs. Flint.” She then turned on her heel and started to walk out. Marcus grinned at her and then nodded as his parents.

“Good-bye, Mother. Father,” he said before starting to follow her. An odd look had come over his mother’s face as she glanced up at his father.

“Well good riddance. Heaven forbid you have any children,” Mr. Flint said. Nora stopped in her tracks and bristled. Marcus looked down at her, worried. It was a low blow, but his parents didn’t know about her infertility.

“Then I suppose you’ll be happy to know I can’t have any. Wouldn’t want to muddle the family bloodline anymore than I already have,” Nora shot back, not turning around. Marcus noted the sheen of tears starting to fill her eyes. He looked back at his parents. His mother was glaring at his father, something that seemed to surprise him. “Might produce a bunch more squibs.”

“Come on, let’s go, Nora,” Marcus said. “It’s obvious they’re a lost cause.” Nora nodded as he took her hand and they strode out of the room.

~~~

Once they were back at the flat, Nora immediately disappeared into their room and didn’t come back out until she had changed into a tank top and pair of shorts.

“That’s better,” she said, flopping onto the sofa and pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Marcus watched her, concerned, as he poured them both a glass of wine in the kitchen. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m fine.”

He stepped out and held the glass out to her, sitting beside her.

“Are you sure?” he asked. Nora sighed.

“They really are horrible. Here I thought you might have been exaggerating,” she said with a huff. Marcus sighed and shook his head.

“I thought maybe we could talk some sense into them,” he said. Nora looked over at him.

“I don’t care what they think about me or us,” she said, taking his hand. “Marcus, I love you and I want to be with you. That’s all that matters to me.” Marcus smiled and leaned over, kissing her cheek.

“It was a bit fun watching you square off against my mother,” he said with a chuckle. Nora laughed.

“I thought her eyes were going to bug out when she saw my tattoos,” she said before taking a sip.

“At first glance, they were awfully distracting but I think I can get used to them,” a voice said from behind them. Nora jumped to her feet, nearly spilling her wine as she saw Mrs. Flint standing calmly.

“How did you- Where did you- Fuck,” Nora said without thinking. Eugenia flinched slightly at her language but then shook it off. She walked around and calmly sat in the armchair.

“By all means, don’t continue standing on my account,” she said, motioning to the sofa. Nora nodded silently and sat back down. Eugenia looked around the large living room, studying the large amount of photos spread around. Most of them were of Marcus and Nora with several of them with various friends and then some of them with her father. There was one large one above the TV of the two of them sitting next to Hyde Lake. They had managed to get a wizarding camera out there and Nora tossed her head back laughing as the wind rippled through her hair and Marcus gazed down at her lovingly.

“It seems…”

“Muggle,” Nora offered. Eugenia looked back at her.

“I was going to say cozy,” she replied. Nora nodded. “First things first, please don’t feel defensive with me. I’ve come in peace.” Nora nodded and glanced at Marcus who just shrugged. “What my husband said, well, even that was cold for me. We had no idea you were unable to have children, but still, he shouldn’t have said it. I’d like to apologize for that.”

“I accept,” Nora said softly. Eugenia studied the two a moment before speaking again.

“And I would like to apologize for my own behavior. You’re right. The world is changing and I suppose it’s time I started to catch up,” she said, straightening her skirt. “Contrary to what it may seem, I do not wish to lose my only son.” Nora stared at her in confusion. It was as though she had done a complete about face. Marcus’ mouth dropped open. “Shut your mouth, Marcus. It’s unbecoming.” His mouth snapped shut.

“It’s just… don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to hear this, but… what happened?” Marcus asked. Eugenia sighed.

“Well. Your father and I got into a bit of a row after you left and I started to see just how ridiculous this all must seem now. Blood purity and all. I doubt even we’re completely pureblood, to be honest,” she said. “But we’ve spent so long thinking we had to adhere to certain rules that neither us noticed that the old rulebook had been tossed out.”

“I think Voldemort’s defeat was a fairly obvious indication of that,” Marcus replied. Eugenia shot him a look and he quieted.

“It will take a bit longer to get your father to see sense, but… I don’t want to lose my son over this. Especially not when he’s finally found happiness,” she said. Nora stared at her with wide eyes, not quite believing the words coming out of her mouth. Eugenia shifted uncomfortably in her chair and blinked rapidly. She was fighting back tears. Marcus was even more gobsmacked. He couldn’t recall ever seeing his mother cry.

Nora looked over at him and then put her glass down on the table, standing. She walked over to Eugenia and bent down, wrapping her arms around the older woman.

“Good heavens, what are you doing?” Eugenia shouted.

“It’s called a hug and get used to it,” Nora said with a laugh. Eugenia looked over at Marcus over Nora’s shoulder, flustered. Marcus chuckled.

“She’s right,” he said. Eugenia nodded and then awkwardly wrapped her arms around Nora. The young woman gave her one more squeeze and then stepped back.

“Since this is your first time here, would you like a tour?” she asked. Eugenia looked up at her and smiled slightly.

“Of course,” she said, standing. Marcus watched in awe as Nora led her over to the wall and bookshelf, talking about the various photos and friends and family in them.

“Why don’t you get dinner started?” Nora called out to him. Eugenia looked over at her son.

“You cook?” she asked, incredulous. Marcus chuckled.

“I’m rather good at it,” he said. Eugenia blinked and then nodded, turning back to Nora and her stories.

About an hour later, the three were situated around the table eating. Eugenia had brought along an old photo album that Marcus didn’t even know had existed, showing off his baby photos and some from his school years.

“Okay, now I understand where the nickname troll came from,” Nora said, grinning up at him.

“He got that from his father’s side,” Eugenia said, rolling her eyes. “Thank Merlin we got it fixed. Though I always thought he was rather handsome despite his teeth.” Marcus blushed slightly and took a long sip of wine.

“So… what’s this I hear about Marcus being good at quidditch?” Nora asked, flipping to the next page that featured Marcus in his Slytherin quidditch robes.

“He was rather good. Though terrified me to death whenever he played,” Eugenia said. “Unfortunately, his father never did get on board with it. Said professional sport was unseemly for a Flint.” The older woman rolled her eyes slightly, helping herself to more wine.

Nora grinned across the table at him, obviously enjoying the sudden change in his mother. Marcus was still in a state of shock over it, to be honest. Eugenia stopped and looked at Marcus.

“My dear son, did you want to play professional quidditch? Are you happy as a lawyer?” she asked suddenly. Marcus’ eyes widened as he looked at the wine bottle. Just what was in there?

“I’m happy with my profession, Mother,” he said. “More so now that I have my own practice. I enjoy it and I don’t regret not playing quidditch.”

“Besides, Adey and Oliver give us free tickets whenever we want,” Nora added. Eugenia looked at her.

“Adey?” she asked

As if on cue, the front door flew open and Adrian waltzed in with a bottle of firewhisky under his arm. He stopped and froze as he saw Mrs. Flint sitting next to Nora.

“I’m interrupting again,” he said. “Just thought you two might want a good stiff drink after today…”

“Adrian Pucey. I haven’t seen you in years,” Eugenia said. He nodded silently. “I just spoke with your mother last week.”

“Ah, the old battle ax. How is she?” Adrian asked, smiling. Though his eyes were still cold.

“As uncordial as ever, to be honest,” Eugunia replied, sipping her wine. All three young people stared at her in shock. It was as though the floodgates had opened. “And prideful, Merlin. If I have to hear her go on about your brother yet again, I’ll pluck my eyes out.” Nora looked up at her cousin.

“Is she talking about Percival?” she asked. She had never met any of Adrian’s family but had heard him complain about them often enough while growing up.

“Yes. My older brother. The pride and joy of the Pucey clan. Especially after I jumped ship,” he said. “I didn’t even get invited to his wedding.”

“Be glad you missed it. Horrendous! That wife of his chose green and red as her colors. It was like a bloody Christmas party,” Eugenia commented. Adrian stared at her a moment and then started chuckling.

“Tell me, Mrs. Flint, is there something in that wine? Because I’ve never seen you like this,” he replied honestly. Eugenia laughed softly and looked over at Marcus.

“I guess you could say I’ve finally seen the light,” she said. She then looked over at Nora. “I’m just happy to have a second chance.” Nora smiled and hugged the woman again. Even though she saw it coming, Eugenia still gasped in shock.

“I hope this means you won’t be a stranger,” Nora said when she let go. Marcus’ eyes widened. He was happy that his mother was coming around, but he wasn’t sure he wanted her dropping by all the time either.

“I will try. I should like to see your father again. Next time he’s in town,” Nora nodded.

“I’m sure he’d like that,” she said, glancing over at Marcus and Adrian.

~~~

Later that night after Adrian and his mother had left and the dishes were done, Marcus sat on the sofa next to Nora, looking over at her as she pushed her glasses up her nose and stretched out her legs and propped her feet in his lap. She had a book and casually turned the page as he flipped on the TV.

“Well… that was a day,” he said with a sigh. Nora looked at him over the book and smiled.

“Definitely not what I was expecting,” she said. “You think she’ll talk him into coming to the wedding?” Marcus shrugged and shook his head.

“No clue. But to be honest, I’ll take whatever developments come,” he said, starting to massage her feet. “I wasn’t even expecting her to come around so quickly.” Nora chuckled.

“Me neither,” she said. “Dad fell out of his chair when I told him.” Marcus frowned at her.

“When did you talk to him?” he asked.

“While you were finishing up the dishes. We still prefer video chat since the idea of sticking my head into a fire still doesn’t sound appealing,” she said, turning a page. Marcus laughed, picturing the older man sprawled out on the floor.

“When are he and your sister coming to visit?” he asked.

“In a few weeks. Eliza wants to see Diagon Alley and she swears that none of the wedding plans will happen unless she’s here to supervise,” she replied.

“You made any decisions on that yet?” he asked. Nora shrugged.

“I’ve got a few venues in mind that I want to check out. But still haven’t decided on colors or anything yet,” she said. “Oh, but I did find a band.”

“Of course you’d choose the band first,” Marcus said, chuckling. Nora looked at him.

“A good band is the centerpiece of the reception,” she stated. “We can’t have bad music at our wedding.” Marcus leaned over and kissed her.

“All I care about is you walking down the aisle towards me,” he replied with a smile. Nora grinned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to be too late.” Marcus laughed loudly.

“Don’t make me wait too long, Pucey,” he replied. Nora winked.

“Come on, Flint. You know as well as I do that you enjoy the anticipation of waiting on me,” she said. Marcus laughed.

“I did spend most my life waiting on you to show up,” he said.

“And wasn’t I worth the wait?”

“That you most certainly were.”


	24. Chapter 24

“I cannot believe you are getting married… again,” Blaise said from where he sat on a sofa, drinking a glass of whisky. “I haven’t even gotten married for the first time.” Marcus chuckled. He was standing in front of a mirror, adjusting his tie. Truth be told, he was nervous. Much more nervous than he was with his first wedding. But at the same time, he was also much more excited. Because he knew this was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

They had somehow managed to merge their two lives - muggle and wizard - together. And today would be the day they made it official.

“At least this one will be more fun than the last one,” Adrian said, grinning. “I hear Nora booked an amazing band.”

“How is she?” Marcus asked, turning to look at his best man.

“She’s about as nervous as you, I’d say,” he said with a grin.

“All I can say is I never thought I’d be in the wedding party for Marcus Flint,” Oliver said, chuckling. “Welcome to the club.”

“Let’s hope my second marriage works out better than yours,” Marcus said with a laugh.

“I’ve no doubt it will. You’d be daft to let go of a woman like Nora,” Wood replied.

“Just like you’d be daft to let go of Katie,” Marcus replied. Wood’s cheeks reddened a bit.

“Dare say we’ll have another wedding soon!” Adrian shouted as Wood sputtered on his whisky.

Marcus chuckled as he walked over to a window and looked out over the English countryside painted in the sunset. He and Nora had happened upon the manor while out ‘discovering’ - as Nora called it - one weekend and fell in love with it, immediately tracking down the owners and convincing them to let the couple rent it out for a weekend for their wedding.

While it wasn’t as large or as ostentatious as some of the wizarding manors, it was big enough that their magical families and friends could all come and stay. Many of the guests had stayed up until late the night before, enjoying a more casual rehearsal dinner in the main dining room.

They were all no doubt now seated in the ballroom waiting for the ceremony to begin. Just outside in the large back garden, tables and a dance floor were already set up for the party to follow. The band had already arrived and was setting up. Marcus chuckled to himself, thinking of Nora’s luck - it turned out one of her favorite bands happened to be made up of half-bloods so they could have a completely magical reception as well. Granted they still had a large party planned for their muggle friends. Nora had told them they were doing a private family-only ceremony.

At that moment, he was on one side of the manor in a suite with his wedding party, while Nora’s was with hers in the master suite that the two would share the rest of the weekend. Butterflies flared in his stomach as he realized that soon he would be waiting at the end of the aisle for Nora.

“You’re not nervous, are you?” Blaise asked from the sofa. Marcus looked at him and frowned slightly, though there was a twinkle in his eye.

“I’m bloody Marcus Flint, I don’t get nervous,” he said gruffly, causing all the men to laugh.

“I was pretty nervous my first marriage,” Oliver said. “Granted that was because I was still slightly drunk from the night before and I didn’t want her to know.”

“What about the second?” Adrian asked. Marcus recalled that Pucey had attended, but guessed he wasn’t in the wedding party.

“Ehm… I think I was just worried about the sheer amount of money we were spending. My ex had insisted on a castle. I was most definitely drunk for most of that one,” he said.

“Thank Merlin Nor is reasonable,” Adrian said. “Though, did you two decide on where to honeymoon.” Marcus smiled and nodded.

“Going to Bali,” he said. “Though took some convincing to get her to agree to travel the magical way. Still not fond of apparition or floo.”

“I imagine not,” Oliver said with a chuckle. “Katie said she nearly passed out when she apparated them to your flat after drinking one night.” Adrian looked at a clock on the wall and sighed.

“Reckon it’s about time to get down there,” Adrian said. “Knowing Nor, she’ll be five minutes late, so we’ve got just enough time to get downstairs.” Marcus nodded and laughed, mentally agreeing there was no chance this wedding would start exactly on time, knowing his bride. The men put their glasses down and filed out of the suite, working through hallways and stairs until they arrived at a side door to the ballroom where one of the coordinators was waiting for them.

After checking all their boutineers, the witch opened the door slightly. She waited for the song to change and then motioned the men inside, with Marcus leading them. He looked around the airy ballroom that was filled with warm light from the setting sun that poured in from windows lining three sides. The guests were all sitting in light wooden chairs with garlands of white and lavender flowers strung up everywhere. Vases of baby’s breath lined the aisle.

There was a flower-covered arch just behind him where George stood. As soon as the two got engaged, they both immediately agreed that they wanted him to officiate, though Marcus was slightly worried he’d attempt to pull some sort of prank during the ceremony or accidentally burn down the manor with fireworks.

This wedding was much smaller than his first - which had taken place in the much larger and grander Flint manor with much fanfare and even a red carpet - Pansy had insisted. Back then their large ballroom had been full of faces that Marcus didn’t even recognize. This time, Marcus was happy to see that he knew - and liked - every single face he saw sitting there. Even the Potters and Weasleys had come, something that made Marcus chuckle.

He never would have thought they would come to his wedding, though he suspected Granger and her husband may have been at his first wedding only because she was a high level ministry worker.

Sitting in the front row on his side was his mother, father and some of his cousins. Thinking back to how far his parents come in accepting Nora, Marcus knew it was nothing short of a miracle, considering his father had been close to disinheriting him when he found out he was with not only a blood traitor, but one with no magical ability. But somehow, he seemed to be slowly coming around. His mother grinned at him, her eyes already filling with tears.

The soft music pulled Marcus from his thoughts and he took a deep breath, turning to look towards the large double doors at the back. They opened and Katie stepped out, walking down the aisle in a lavender, flowy dress. She was followed by Laura and then Eliza, Nora’s sister who was maid of honor. After she had taken her spot the music changed and everyone stood as the doors opened again and revealed Nora standing on her father’s arm.

Marcus could have swore his heart skipped a beat or possibly stopped completely just for a moment. She looked perfect.

Nora was in a soft, off-white dress. The bodice was short sleeved and solid lace with a plunging v-neck. The same pattern of lace continued about halfway down the chiffon skirt that seemed to float around her as she walked. Her hair was pulled back in a low, curly bun with strands framing her face. She had opted to go back to her more natural blonde for the wedding, saying the pink would clash with her wedding colors of lavender and green.

Nora blinked as she locked eyes with Marcus and for those few minutes as she walked down the aisle, it felt as if they were the only ones there. But she finally reached the end and Nora turned to hug her father, tears already falling down her cheeks.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. He then let go and turned to Marcus, hugging him.

“Take care of her,” he said softly. Marcus nodded as Frederick stepped back, took Nora’s hand and then held it out to Marcus. He accepted and led her towards George, who stood grinning as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Eliza stepped over and took Nora’s bouquet while Nora turned to face Marcus, taking both of his hands in hers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, wizards, witches and… wizardborn,” he said, pausing while a few laughs escaped around the room. Nora rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she was still smiling. “We are all gathered here to witness the joining of these two - Nora Marianne Pucey and Marcus Troll - I mean James - Flint.”

The rest of the ceremony continued in much of the same fashion, with George cracking jokes wherever he could squeeze them in, much to the enjoyment of the guests. He even managed to get a blush out of Nora. But then it came time for their vows and Marcus swallowed, suddenly feeling antsy. He hadn’t written his own last time, just repeating after the officiant. But Nora had insisted. He suddenly wished he had had Pucey look them over before he came out here.

Nora took a deep breath and looked up at Marcus, her dark blue eyes still swimming in tears.

“Marcus… I take you to be my partner for life. I promise above all else to live in truth with you and to communicate fully and fearlessly. I give you my hand and my heart,” she stopped a moment as her voice cracked slightly. After another deep breath, she smiled and continued. “As a sanctuary of warmth and peace, and pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor… as I join my life to yours.” She said the last part as she slid a large, gold wedding band on his finger and then grinned up at him.

Marcus could feel his nerves flaring up, but once he looked at Nora smiling at him, he found his fear melting away. This was the woman that he wanted to pledge to spend the rest of his life with.

“Nora… Before I met you, I never knew that it was possible to be this happy, this content, this hopeful for the future. But you’ve brought all that and so much more into my life. For which I will be eternally grateful,” he said, feeling the tears prick at his eyes. “I promise to you that I will never leave your side and I will spend the rest of my days doing whatever I can to make you happy and loving you. I will always be open and honest, keeping no secrets - except for gifts - and I promise to sock anyone who ever dares to say or make you feel that you are anything less than wonderful, amazing and perfect in so many unperfect ways.

“This… I promise you,” he said, sliding the band onto her finger. She wiped at the tears on her cheeks with her free hand and took a deep breath.

“I do believe, ladies and gents, that I can now - with all pleasure - pronounce these two lovebirds husband and wife. Have at it you two,” George said with a grin. Marcus immediately pulled Nora to him and bent down, gently kissing her.

The guests stood to their feat, cheering as Nora smiled up at Marcus.

“TO THE NEW MR. AND MRS. FLINT!” George shouted as he pointed his wand up and a shower of lavender, silver and gold fireworks rained from the ceiling. Nora looked up, her eyes wide in awe as the guests gasped and laughed.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at Marcus.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said, taking her arm. Nora laughed and reached for her bouquet from Eliza. They then walked back down the aisle, smiling, as the photographer snapped photos of everything.

They led the wedding party and guests outside to where the reception was set up outside. There were dozens of round tables surrounding a dance floor with the band already set up. Garlands of flowers hung over everything with fireflies lazily floating around.

“It’s perfect,” Nora breathed, looking up at Marcus. He pulled her into a small alcove for a moment alone before everyone caught up to them.

“Nor… I’ve never been happier,” he said softly. Nora grinned up at him.

“Me neither. And just think… this is the beginning,” she said. “Or rather a new beginning. We’ve already started our life together.” Marcus grinned.

“I can’t wait to see what comes next,” he said.

“Me neither.”


	25. Chapter 25

A few months later, Nora was pacing around the apartment. She was still a bit in shock. Part of her knew Marcus would be happy, but the other part of her was nervous. She was 33 and that put her slightly at risk. Not to mention, the two of them had decided they would be happy without children. And she had been told years ago that having children would be difficult if not impossible for her.

But there was no denying that she was pregnant. The five tests she took pretty much confirmed it.

As she was mid-turn the front door opened and Marcus walked in.

“What’s wrong,” he asked, immediately recognizing that Nora was agitated. She froze as he walked up to her and took her into his arms.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, pulling back. “You remember that I told you that the doctors said I couldn’t get pregnant?”

“Yes, and I told you I was fine with that,” Marcus said, his brow furrowed.

“I’m pregnant,” Nora said. Marcus froze. Nora watched him, her nerves growing the longer he stood silent. She was expecting him to be surprised, but happy. The silence wasn’t really telling her anything.

“Wait… we’re going to be parents?” Marcus finally said, his eyes still wide. Nora nodded, smiling.

“Yea. You’re going to be a dad. Well, as long as everything goes well,” Nora said. “It’s not going to be easy, but yea.” Marcus started grinning.

“Merlin, Nora… We’re having a baby,” he said before he kissed her. Nora laughed.

“Thank god, you had me worried there for a minute,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m beyond thrilled. Nor, this is the best news outside of you asking me to marry you,” he said, starting to get worked up.

“But really, Marcus. I’m serious. This genetic thing… getting pregnant is just the first bit. There’s still a good chance I could end up losing the baby,” she said, turning serious.

“Nor, it’s okay. We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. But for now, let’s just be happy it’s gotten this far,” he said. “We’re having a baby.” His happiness was infectious and Nora found herself smiling.

“We’re having a baby…”

~~~~

As hard as it was for both of them, they waited until the second trimester to tell anyone. Marcus wanted to shout it from the rooftops the day they found out, but Nora wanted to wait, worried she’s miscarry. She had been seeing a muggle doctor, not sure she would be comfortable with the wizarding healers.

And while it was Marcus’ excitement that made it hard to keep the secret, for Nora it was more fear than anything that kept her from telling anyone. But with each passing week and doctor’s appointment, she started to let herself get more excited. So far, things were progressing well and her doctor went as far to say that he didn’t foresee them having any complications.

The day they went in for the first sonogram, Marcus was beyond excited. When the fast heartbeat came on, he started grinning as tears sprung in Nora’s eyes. When the little blob that was their child showed up on the screen, he bent down and kissed her.

“That’s our child,” he whispered. Nora nodded and looked over, hardly believing it herself.

“Oh shit, this is happening,” she had replied, causing the technician to chuckle.

They waited until her father had come to visit to break the news. They were all seated around the table on their balcony, enjoying dessert after dinner. Adrian was there, bringing Wood along from practice. Laura sat across the table from Nora, studying the couple the entire time. Nora was sure she knew what was happening, having questioned a few times why Nora suddenly stopped drinking. The fast from alcohol excuse would only work for so long. Marcus looked over at Nora, silently asking if he could tell them now. She smiled and nodded.

“Well, since you’re all here,” Marcus said after clearing his throat.

“Merlin, please tell me Nora is knocked up,” Adrian blurted out. Nora’s eyes widened as she looked over at Marcus, who had a goofy grin on his face. She started laughing and playfully scowled at her cousin.

“Go and ruin the announcement, why don’t you,” she said as her hand drifted to her stomach. Frederick’s eyes widened and started to fill with tears.

“It’s true?” he asked. Nora looked at her father and nodded.

“I’m about three months,” she said. “We wanted to wait just to make sure everything was okay… seeing as I had been told I couldn’t get pregnant.” Frederick leapt to his feet and ran to Nora, pulling her up into a hug.

“Must have been that magical sperm,” Adrian said, laughing at his own joke. Nora rolled her eyes as Laura punched him in the arm.

“Magical sperm, really?” she replied before standing and walking over to hug Nora after her father had let her go. “I knew the whole time, by the way. There’s no way you’d give up drinking for three months for your health.” Nora laughed.

“You have no idea how hard it was to keep this quiet,” she said. Laura looked down at her stomach.

“How big do you think you’ll get?” she asked. “Oh! And I know this perfect shop for maternity clothes. You may get fat, but you’ll still look good.”

“God, Laura. Be blunt, why don’t you,” Nora said, rolling her eyes.

“Reckon you’ll have another Slytherin,” Wood commented. “Congratulations, Flint.” Marcus chuckled.

“You’re forgetting the other part of the equation is Nora. There’s no telling what he or she will be,” he said.

“Or they,” Adrian sang.

“No. There is definitely only one in here,” Nora said, scowling at her cousin as she placed a hand protectively on her stomach. “We know that for sure.”

“I think she’ll be… Hufflepuff,” Laura said after studying Nora a bit. “Though I certainly hope she’s a Slytherin.”

“What makes you think it’s a girl? It’ll be a boy,” Adrian fired back.

“When do you find out what it is?” Frederick asked after everyone sat back down.

“You can do that?” Wood asked. Nora looked at him oddly.

“Another month and a half,” she said. “Do they not do that in the wizarding world?”

“Not with us,” Wood said. Nora shrugged.

“Well, they’ll do an ultrasound about then and we should be able to see as long as the little one is playing nice,” she said. Adrian and Wood looked confused. “As long as the baby’s in the right position.”

“I remember when your mother went in for her first ultrasound with you,” Frederick said. “You were wiggling like nothing else. I swore you even waved at me. I think I must have cried for hours that day…” Nora laughed.

“Marcus got a bit teary for our first sonogram,” she said, glancing at him. Adrian started laughing loudly.

“I can’t tell you what it is… just… seeing that little blob on the screen for the first time… Does something to you,” Marcus said, smiling.

“Just wait until it’s here,” Wood said.

“What, all crying and dirty nappies?” Adrian asked. Wood chuckled.

“That first moment you hold ‘em… It really changes you,” he said, smiling softly. Nora reached out and grabbed Marcus’ hand.

“I think it’s already changed us,” she said.

“Merlin and I thought you two were mushy enough about the wedding,” Laura said rolling her eyes.

“Just wait until you get pregnant,” Nora shot back at her. Adrian spit out the wine he had just taken a drink of.

“That is not happening anytime soon,” he declared as Laura laughed.

“Or so you think,” she said, grinning at her cousin while Marcus and Wood laughed at him. Adrian gulped and looked over at Laura.

“Don’t look at me. I do my part to make sure there are no babies,” she said before sipping her wine.

“You never know. You could change your mind,” Frederick said, giving the couple a look. Adrian laughed nervously as Laura continued to sit coolly.

“Not any time soon.”

~~~~

“So, have you got names picked out?” Katie asked. It was a few months later and a large Nora was waddling around the nursery, putting up clothes and other items with Katie and Laura. The girls had just thrown her a shower earlier in the day and the two had stayed behind to help put things up.

“We can’t seem to decide,” Nora said as she folded a blanket.

“You know it’s a girl. What’s there to decide on?” Laura said.

“Well, we definitely like Lillian. After mom. But we can’t seem to settle on a middle name,” Nora replied. “Eliza is still gunning for her name.”

“Of course she is. Isn’t being named godmother enough?” Laura said with a laugh. Nora shrugged and looked down at her belly. She almost couldn’t believe they had made it this far. It was just a few more weeks until little Lillian would be here. A tear slipped out of her eye.

“Nor? What’s wrong?” Laura asked, rushing over to her.

“It’s nothing,” Nora said, sniffling.

“Hormones. They drove me mad during both my pregnancies,” Katie said. Nora sniffled again.

“It’s just… I never thought I would get this… and I… I’m so afraid that something’s going to go wrong,” she said before breaking out into sobs. Both women tried to comfort her before Marcus rushed into the room.

“What’s wrong?” he said, taking the sight of a sobbing Nora. She looked up at him, her face streaked in tears.

“I’m having a baby, that’s what’s wrong,” she sobbed.

“What?! Now?! Merlin! Someone grab the bag!” he shouted as he started looking around the room frantically. Katie and Laura chuckled as Nora attempted to get her tears in check.

“She’s fine, Marcus. The baby isn’t coming yet. She’s just… having a moment,” Katie said. Marcus stopped looking and watched as Nora nodded.

“She’s been having a bit of those lately. Nearly threw a frying pan at me the other day,” he said as he stepped up to her and pulled her into his arms. “It’s alright, Nora. Everything is going to be fine.”

“But how do you know,” she whimpered. He chuckled as he rubbed her back.

“Because I know you,” he said. Nora looked up at him.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” she asked, frowning slightly.

“Gonna have to work on that mouth before the baby gets here, Nor,” Laura said with a laugh. Nora shot her a dirty look over her shoulder.

“It means, you’re tough. Probably the toughest woman I know. It’ll be fine,” he said. Nora nodded, smiling slightly.

“I hope you’re right.”


	26. Chapter 26

“Really, you don’t have to stay home every day just to watch me. I know how to use the floo-thing now. You’d get here in time to help me to the hospital,” Nora said from where she was lounging on the sofa. She glanced up from her book over to where Marcus was sitting in an armchair, reading the newspaper.

“But I feel better being here with you,” he said. “You shouldn’t be alone now. You can barely make it off the sofa without help.” Nora laughed and shook her head, then grimaced slightly. Marcus sat up. “Is it the baby?”

“Just… more of the same,” Nora said, rubbing her belly. Marcus had rushed them to the hospital in the middle of the night two days ago, thinking the baby was coming. Turned out it was just Braxton Hicks. Now he thought every little ache in Nora’s body meant the baby was on the way. They still had two weeks.

He settled back in the chair, but kept an eye on her.

“Hello, family!” Adrian shouted as he walked into the apartment.

“Will you ever learn to knock?” Nora asked, grinning.

“Thought he learned the day he walked in on us,” Marcus said, glancing at his best friend.

“Don’t remind me,” Adrian said, rolling his eyes. They had been in the bedroom, so he had thankfully not actually seen anything. But it was enough that he refrained from randomly dropping by for a few months, always announcing his arrival in advance. “I came to see how little Lillian was doing.”

“She still safe inside,” Nora said, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

“When are you going to hurry up and get here,” Adrian said to Nora’s belly as he sat down next to her.

“When she’s good and ready, Adey,” Nora replied.

“No contractions today?” he asked, looking at Nora.

“Just slight ones. But not strong enough to go into the hospital,” she said with a sigh. Adrian nodded.

“Well, then. I’m staying until the baby’s here,” he proclaimed. Nora and Marcus stared at him.

“No, you’re not. It could take a few days,” Nora said.

“But you said you were having contractions. We could be heading off to hospital any hour now,” Adrian said.

“Doesn’t happen that fast, mate,” Marcus said, looking back at the newspaper.

“Says the man who’s taken off work until the baby gets here,” Adrian said, smirking. Marcus rolled his eyes as Nora chuckled.

“Both of you are more wound up than I am,” Nora said, putting her book aside and reaching for her glass of water. “And I’m the one having the baby.” Just as she grabbed the glass, a strong pain raced through her stomach. Nora shouted as she grabbed her belly and knocked the glass over. Immediately, Marcus was on his feet.

“What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” he asked.

“I don’t know… something’s wrong. We need to get to the hospital now,” Nora said, panting. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Grab her bag, Adrian,” Marcus said as he leaned down and helped Nora stand. She could barely hold herself up.

“I can’t feel her moving,” Nora said frantically. Marcus looked up and met Adrian’s eyes.

“We’re going to have to go to St. Mungo’s. We won’t make it to the muggle hospital in time,” he said.

“No… but Dr. Bradley. He specializes in high risk pregnancies and births,” Nora said in between breaths.

“Nor, I don’t think now is the time to argue about that. We need to get you to a hospital now. You’ll be fine at St. Mungo’s,” Adrian said.

“But… they don’t know… my history,” she said as another pain wracked her body.

“They’ll know what to do,” Marcus said, kissing her head. He reached down and picked her up, holding her in his arms. “Hold on.”

“God, no. I’m gonna hurl if you do that,” Nora shouted.

“It’s the only way, Nor,” Marcus said before apparating them to the lobby of St. Mungo’s, Adrian following not long after. He looked around frantically.

“It’s my wife. Something’s happened with the baby,” he shouted at a witch behind the front desk. She pointed up the stairs.

“Second floor, take a left. Maternity wing,” she said. Marcus took off running with Adrian behind him.

“At least I didn’t throw up,” Nora said weakly. Marcus chuckled.

“Small miracles,” he said, glancing down at her. Nora grimaced again.

Marcus slid into the maternity wing, frantically looking around for a healer. Katie popped out of a room at that moment.

“Marcus, what’s going on? I thought you were having the baby in a muggle hospital?” she said.

“Something’s wrong. Didn’t have time,” he said. Katie’s eyes widened as she turned and ran towards another room.

“Follow me!” she shouted. Once they were in a room and Marcus had deposited Nora on a bed, Katie pushed him aside. “What happened?”

“I was reaching for a glass of water and it felt like something ripped,” Nora said. “God, it fucking hurts.”

“She said she couldn’t feel her moving,” Marcus said, his face white. Katie felt around Nora’s stomach.

“The placenta may have ripped. We need to get the baby out now,” she said. “Marcus, Adrian I need you outside. We’re going to have to get her to surgery.” She turned and ran out of the room and started shouting down the hallway. Marcus and Adrian had just stepped out when an entire team rushed in.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her,” Katie said with a reassuring smile. “Might want to call the family. Lillian’s going to be here very quickly.” She then turned back into the room, shutting the door behind her. Marcus stared at it. Adrian stepped up and put his hand on his shoulder.

“It’ll be alright, mate,” he said. Marcus looked over at him, worry filling his face.

“I hope so,” he said.

“I’ll go start sending owls and floo Uncle,” Adrian said.

“Thank you,” Marcus said.

~~~~

It seemed like he had been pacing outside the room for hours, but it had only been about 15 or 30 minutes. He couldn’t hear anything coming out of the room. The longer he paced the more worried he got.

Nora had told him that things could get difficult. He just hadn’t realized how difficult until now. His heart was racing as he worried he might lose both of them.

Wood came racing down the hallway, grabbing Marcus’ attention mid-pace.

“I came as soon as Adrian sent me the message. How is she?” he asked. Marcus shook his head.

“No one’s come out yet,” he said. Wood looked at him and then pulled him into a hug.

“It’ll be alright,” he said. “I thought I would shite myself when Chloe was born, but it turned out alright in the end.” Marcus nodded and stepped back, looking back at the door.

“She said it felt like something ripped. I don’t know what that means,” he said. Adrian came running down the hall, followed by Laura.

“Uncle and Eliza are on their way by floo. Everyone else said they’d come as soon as they could. Any word yet?” he asked. Marcus shook his head silently. At that moment, the door opened and everyone turned to look. Katie stepped out, holding a bundle.

“I thought you’d might like to meet someone,” she said softly with a smile. Marcus stepped over to her and peered down into the bundle. A small, blonde-haired infant peered up at him with light blue eyes. Katie gently handed her over to Marcus, whose eyes had started welling up.

“Her eyes are so, they’re light,” he said, sniffing slightly.

“They’ll change a bit before they settle. But she’ll probably have blue eyes,” Katie said. “She’s been unusually calm.” Marcus started rocking her slightly.

“Hi, Lillian… I’m your Daddy,” Marcus said as tears streamed down his cheeks. The baby smiled and cooed, seeming to study his face. He laughed and looked up at Katie. “How’s Nor? Did she see her?” Katie’s smile faded slightly.

“She’s, she’s lost a lot of blood. But we’re working on her. Just needs a bit of blood replenisher. We… it’s taken a bit of experimenting. But don’t worry. She’s in good hands,” Katie said. Marcus nodded. She then turned and stepped back into the room. Marcus was torn. He was sick with worry over Nora but at the same time, he couldn’t believe that he was holding his daughter in his arms. He turned to the group.

“Meet, Lillian Evangeline Flint,” he said, smiling. They all crowded around him, looking down at her.

“She’s beautiful!” Laura crooned. Adrian moved her aside.

“Let me see my cousin,” he said. He looked down at the baby. “Thank Merlin she looks like Nora. Imagine a little girl with Flint’s face.” Marcus chuckled as the baby looked around.

“Marcus… I think you can see her now,” Katie said from the open door. He looked up at her and nodded.

“Let’s go meet, Mummy,” he said softly to the baby. He walked in, not paying much attention to the various healers cleaning up. There was still a fair bit of blood around. Nora was quiet on the bed. She looked deathly pale, but she smiled tiredly as he walked up, the baby in his arms.

“Let me see her,” she said softly. Marcus bent down, showing her the baby. “She’s beautiful.”

“She looks like her mum,” Marcus said softly. Nora chuckled.

“They don’t really look like much of anyone at this age. Just wait until she gets older,” she said.

“I hope she’s like you,” Marcus said, back to staring at the baby in his arms. Nora snorted.

“Are you sure about that? Dad might have some things to tell you that might change your mind,” she said. She glanced over at Katie. “Can I hold her?”

“I think it should be alright as long as Marcus helps,” she replied. Marcus nodded as he gently handed the baby over to Nora.

“Hello, Lillian,” Nora crooned softly as she gently touched her nose. “I’m so glad you’re finally here. You’ve been killing me the past couple months, kid.” Marcus laughed softly. The baby yawned and blinked. “Oh, seems someone is sleepy. I imagine being born is some tiring work.” The two watched as the baby slowly drifted off to sleep. Nora looked up at Marcus, grinning.

“We’re parents,” he murmured as it settled in. “Merlin, I can’t nearly believe it.”

“You and me both,” she said. “I better get as much sleep while I’m here because she probably won’t let either of us sleep much once we get home.” Marcus smiled and leaned over, kissing her forehead.

“Whatever is coming, Nor, I’m not worried. We can do this,” he said. Nora smiled and looked back down at the baby.

“Yea… we got this…”

~~~

_Five years later…_

“Uncle Oliver! Take me for a ride!” the little blonde girl shouted as she stomped her foot.

“Lillian, I’m not sure how I feel about you going up on a broomstick,” Nora called from the patio towards the now irate 5 year old. She looked over.

“But Mummy! Daddy and Uncle Oliver promised!” Lillian shouted. Nora crossed her arms in front of her and put on her best Mom face.

“Lillian, you know that you will do nothing until I’ve deemed it okay,” she said.

“Nor, relax, she’ll be safe if it’s me or Oliver,” Marcus said, coming up from behind her and kissing her cheek. Nora rolled her eyes.

“Great. I now have a 5 year old that’s obsessed with a sport that makes no sense,” she huffed as she watched her husband walk over to the grill with a plate of steaks.

“Welcome to my life,” Katie said as she stepped out with two glasses in her hand. She handed one over to Nora and stood next to her, watching as Oliver began chasing the little girl around the yard.

“How are the kids?” Nora asked, looking over at her.

“Chloe is busy training with the Harpies and Jason’s busy with the Falcons. Jeremy seems settled in at Gringott’s,” she said, smiling at Oliver and Lillian.

“And how’s Mrs. Wood?” Nora asked, grinning. Katie rolled her eyes.

“The _last_ Mrs. Wood is doing rather fine,” she said.

“Took you two long enough,” Nora replied.

“Well, we wanted to wait until the kids were out of school,” Katie said.

“Katie, Jeremy graduated two years ago,” Nora said.

“I know… and then I wanted to make sure that Oliver knew that I would be the last Mrs. Wood,” Katie said, causing Nora to shake her head and chuckle.

“Where’s my favorite cousin?” Adrian boomed as he stepped out into the backyard.

“Adey!” Lillian squealed as she ran over to him. She leapt into his arms as Adrian swung her around. He glared over at Nora.

“Lil, you know my name is Adrian,” he said looking at the little girl.

“But Mummy calls you Adey,” she said.

“Yes, but we don’t always have to do what Mummy does,” he said, putting her down.

“I think it suits you,” Katie said, grinning. Adrian rolled his eyes.

“Where are the other minions?” he asked looking around.

“Pucey, you know neither of us have had kids in the house for a few years now,” Oliver said, walking up.

“Then perhaps you should rectify that,” Adrian said, grinning.

“Absolutely not. I’m done,” Katie shouted immediately. “Maybe you should rectify that.”

“Me?” Adrian scoffed. “Haven’t we been over this? I’m the cool uncle type. Not the father type. Even Laura agrees with me on that. How about Nor and Marcus pop out a few more?” Nora laughed as Lillian ran over to her and jumped into her arms.

“It was miracle enough that we had this one. Sorry, Adey, but Lillian’s going to be an only child,” she said, looking down at her. “Not to mention, I don’t think I can handle more than one magical child. She’s already broken half the glassware with her accidental magic.” Adrian studied her a moment, noting the hint of relief. He knew Marcus and Nora wouldn’t have loved Lillian any less if she was wizardborn as well, but Nora had admitted to him that she was happy Lillian would get to live a normal life in the wizarding world.

“But Mummy, I want a little sister or brother,” the little girl pouted.

“I know, sweetie. And but some things are just not meant to be,” Nora said, touching her nose.

“Come on, Lil. Let Uncle Oliver teach you how to ride a broom,” Oliver said. Lillian squealed and leapt out of Nora’s arms, bounding over to the tall, burly man.

“Not too far up!” Nora yelled after them as Oliver led her off to the broom shed.

“But really, Nor,” Adrian started. Nora sighed and looked over at him.

“You think we haven’t tried?” she said, her voice tense. Marcus walked over and put an arm around her waist, kissing her head.

“Lillian’s enough,” he said, gazing down at her. Nora looked up at him and smiled.

“Still manage to gross me out,” Adrian said, fake gagging. Both Nora and Marcus looked over at him and grinned.

“It’s your fault, you know. Practically throwing us together and the like,” Marcus said. Adrian rolled his eyes.

“A decision I regret every day,” he said with a dramatic roll of his eyes, though he was grinning.

“Sure you do,” Nora said.

Later on after dinner while Lillian ran around the yard chasing Adrian and Oliver with magical sparklers that never went out, Nora sighed and leaned her head on Marcus’ shoulder, a small smile on her lips. Marcus glanced down at her.

“So, after all your adventures around the world and meeting interesting people, what’s been your favorite part so far?” he asked. Nora glanced up at him and chuckled softly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she replied. “This. Being with you and Lillian. I wouldn’t change it for the world. What about you?” Marcus laughed softly.

“Being with you, of course,” he said. Nora sat up and looked at him.

“I love you, Marcus.”

“Love you too, Nor.”


End file.
